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today's game is brought to you in part by Marathon Deli Marathon Deli offers a full range of lunch and dinner items for dining or catering fine P Cuts cheeses and meats also available in addition to Specialty wraps such as the Mayflower wrap as well as the honey bee wrap they'll be sure to get your mouth watering serving Metro West for over 24 years give them a call at 508 231859 or find them on the web at Marathon deli.com tonight's game is brought to you in part by townhouse pizza subs roast beef and more be sure to fill up with the buffalo chicken cow Zone that's been called one of the best in the area located at 300 Elliot Street in Ashlin give them a call at 508 881-3010 or find them on the web at townhouse pizar roast.com is our hope that you will cheer loudly you will have fun and you will stay safe and understand parents our students should not we walking around the high school hallways we are here to watch the basketball game at this time I want to welcome you all onf of the 12 and thank you so much for all you support our students our teachers our staff and our community now if you are willing and able I would ask that you please rise as National High School president Rachel sing our national an [Applause] [Music] St [Music] the [Music] the the [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] good evening everyone welcome to a special waa Sports presentation it's the annual clocker Classic basketball game featuring faculty from Ashlin high school and the mes School matching up against Ashlin middle school and the Warren school but we're going to send a Courtside to our PA announcer Michael KY as he introduces tonight's [Applause] [Music] lineups yes sweet [Applause] [Music] [Applause] SM 2 1 [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] SCH we have [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] johon sweet [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] for [Applause] you for war [Applause] and representa the returning undated chions [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and y y [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the midle [Applause] l [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] all right okay again everyone welcome and good evening this is a waa special Sports presentation the annual clocker Classic basketball game featuring faculty from Ashlin high school and the Mendes School matching up against the ashin middle school and the Warren school I'm Josh Abrams joined Courtside once again by Brian s and Brian last year's clocker classic set attendant and energy records what can we expect to see tonight so I'm expecting the exact same thing maybe a little bit more energy you know we're at a 20 minutes after you know 6:00 this place is packed again I love it and sorry I thought the ref was talking to us you know I have every emotion going on right now I feel like this is like a inside out part three right here excitement I'm nervous for you for this Dad joke because we've been building up whatever joke you have in in mind but just it's great and I'll just talk about real quick Mr Kyra if he was wasn't a superintendent this would be his Dream Drop is to be the PA announcer he reminded me of the greatest basketball team of all time the Chicago bows and the way he all he needs is music the lights out but when he introduced Mr Powers as the man in the middle that's my team from the 90s so great job Mr Kyra and uh great job from The Freshman was it Rachel doing the national yeah love it freshman so I'm excited man okay getting ready for tip off and tonight's game presented by the Ashlin PTO we'll talk more about them throughout the game so really appreciate them putting this all together tonight we are underway as the high school and Mendes in blue the middle school and Warren in red blue with the winning tip over to Walker feeding inside to Johnston just off the mark She's a thousand Point scorer for the clockers in her High School career here comes the red team yep I think last year Miss Johnson had at least 10 points first three-pointer was goes off by uh th over there off to the right went right into the STS yeah you know if you're if you're here live you got to be on your on your game because balls are flying and the fans are all over the place absolutely you know what I'm really excited about is we have a huge presence here a huge presence online as well on YouTube so my understanding last year there were over 2,000 hits the game and eff here's a turnover red on the Breakaway dako hands it off shot is one rebound gathered by Red Tessier has it trying to drive right kicks it back out to Horton feeding inside miscommunication there Tracked Down still held by red dnco with the ball drives in goes for the layup off the glass and it's good wow I was going to say I wonder how many fouls I don't think there'll be a lot of fouls and good thing I didn't say that cuz we had our first foul and one that's a little different than the varsity game just one ref tonight it's going to be handling all the action no actually we have two refs we do one over there as well yeah missed him okay I stand corrected yeah it won't be my first it won't be my last mistake of the night that's for sure so that was uh Chloe dako correct yes and one misses the first free throw that's okay okay couldn't complete the three-point play but read up two to nothing early just a couple minutes gone by blue feeding inside Johnson misses over the top of the rim gathered in by Red dako keeping the pace up pressing it up I could tell she might have play a little point guard back in her day maybe now oh going deep for three get out so is that red Five Points is that Miss CH Five Points Chloe Five Points I mean that was nothing but net we have a Kon Clark playing with us right now that looked like right Kon Clark on the Indiana fiva BW Off the Mark Johnson with the rebound and she's on the board yes Johnson had at least 10 points last game last year take Kno the point guard the top of the key looking looking dishes to Tessier matched up with Walker drives in against Walker loses the handle grabs it back trying to bounce it out but turned over Evans has it over to Walker and here's a fast break opportunity for team Macwan pulls it back waits for help feeds Walker on the run off the mark Sweeney with the rebound just missed the Lefty layup over there you know this is supposed to be an exhibition these teachers are they're playing hard right now I'm glad you mentioned that tonight is an exhibition Brian just a reminder no wagering no wagering and that yep so Josh Sweeny with his first points on the board he's an 11year teacher here sixth grade social studies at the middle school oh Johnson all alone unguarded puts it right back gets it back for team blue that's four points for her four points total for high school Mendes they're down 74 420 to go dako thought about the three guarded closely drives the lane kicks it back out to Horton fires again for three just off the mark rebound by Chloe all right we got to do a little research on on um on over here does she make another one oh just missed just off the mark oh we got a whistle we have our first sub I think it's a sub whistle all right so yeah Chloe dako a four-year teacher she's a team silver and gold math teacher at the middle school got it all right I'm curious if she played basketball back in her day running the point guard she sure looks like it and I think we've got full changes here for both teams so fresh fresh legs out there for both teams Kelly dishes to Rivera quick three just off the mark and out of bounds it'll be red ball 345 to go in the first quarter team red up seven to four yep I I think they took offense when Mr kyus said the reigning Champion um Mendes high school they're like nope we're taking this almost oh that's getting called close she just had a barely piece of the Soul on the line but there's the call out of bounds blue has the ball you know they say the most important toe is the py toe might have been the toe might have been Caitlyn Clark feeds inside bounces off a couple players and out of bounds it'll save blue ball somebody should let the clock know that it should stop running yep I think they just did notice there's no 35 second clock I don't think there's going to be a lot of too many overpassing if there's a big lead but uh what do you think about you think we'll get 50 over 100 points today which total between the two teams is that is that I would say it's unlikely that's that's a little unlikely Rivera fires just off the mark rebound red that's Johnson up ahead to Chong who I'm told has no basketball experience took a deep shot but you know she's smiling I love it oh yeah she's having a great time she's having a good time that's what matters okay so this is Dan Powers PE teacher bringing the ball up over to Kelly given go to Powers fires left-handed shot Off the Mark rebound red he's looking out he's going to do a press Mr pow a looks like a lefty a little Southpaw over there yeah want to quck give a quick shout out to YouTube viewer Matthew Lombardi who's watching with us tonight giving a shout out to uh Miss Bachi Bella Bachi okay play continues we're still seven to four team red that's the middle school and Warren leading the high school mind and Mendes there's a pass intercepted by Grace team red so they'll bring the ball back up try to sneak it in the post good defense by Red this is in fact Bachi Off the Mark with the shot gathered rebound by team blue this is Caitlyn Clark up ahead to Dan powers powers feeds inside running oneand or no good rebound though gathered in by Blue Kelly thinks about the three drives thinks better of it kicking outside top of the KE Clark she fires off the passet in with that a two or three I think that was a two they're calling a two so that's Caitlyn Clark for two yep and again as you pointed out not the Caitlyn Clark of Iowa Fame but nonetheless another Caitlyn Clark but apparently anyone that's named oh got him on the double dribble I thought the ref was going to let that go but and and you know for everyone these are refs that I've seen reing at Metro reing at the high school level so they got the real thing over here okay Kelly inbounds to Clark unlike other basketball they got the music going on oh yeah this is like the uh Savannah bananas just music going all the time we got a foul on the floor no no basket but we have two foul shots I think a lot of pressure over here it's kind of like a pitch on the mound everyone's eyeing the foul shots okay so is that uh Aon gerro at the line to shoot two gyro played basketball straight through college has has uh three boys in the Ashlin school system all big athletes okay husband Dave we saw before the game gave a big hello gyro hits the first of two yeah definitely played in her in her Youth and we've got a tie game here Brian 77 yeah red had a big lead one for two w look at that that's a a Miss free throw but Blue's going for that rebound oh Grace loses the handle Powers has the ball oh Beth fell down got back on D kicking the ball around Riviera fire Rivera fires from outside off the front iron no good rebound gets eventually to Powers follows his own Miss shot and in Dan powers for two his first points of the night and suddenly Ash the high school Mendes up by two in the final minute here of the first quarter you know Mr Powers always a huge fan favorite I think it he's just the the individual that just everyone knows gyo got a hand in there to force the turnover final 12 seconds power's up ahead I don't know if they know how much time is left on the clock Rivera to Kelly driving over to Guero Got 5 seconds I don't hear the people um C down over here it is so loud in here I don't think the players could hear it anyway as that shot goes AR that brings us to the end of the first quarter with Team blue leading team red 9 to7 we're going to take a quick break with for a word from our sponsors you are watching the clocker classic on W ACA today's game is brought to you in part by Marathon Deli Marathon Deli offers a full range of lunch and dinner items for dining or catering fine P Cuts cheeses and meats also available in addition to Specialty wraps such as the Mayflower wrap as well as the honey bee wrap they'll be sure to get your mouth watering serving Metro West for over 24 years give them a call at 508 231859 or find them on the web at Marathon deli.com tonight's game is brought to you in part by townhouse pizza subs roast beef and more be sure to fill up with the buffalo chicken cow Zone that's been called one of the best in the [Music] area located at 300 Elliot Street in Ashlin give them a call at 508 881-3010 or find them on the web at townhouse pizz roast beef.com and welcome back to waca coverage of the clocker classic tonight's game is sponsored in part by Marathon Deli they offer a full range of lunch and dinner items to eat in or take out along with many catering options perfect for office meetings or parties at home check out their menu at Marathon deli.com then call your order in at 508 2311 1859 little insiders tip they post daily specials on Facebook the r on 135 in Ashlin and open weekdays 10: to 7 want to say thank you to the to the crew crew Carlo and ory for setting us up with uh some food we'll be enjoying our wraps the half want to also mention that members of the marathon family here tonight at the live audience here at the high school so for lunch today I actually went to Marathon got my famous chicken salad lettuce tomato and pickles and I'm having cap the cape cata which is a chicken salad as well so I got two two doses of Marathon today I'm excited got double down on Marathon Deli good stuff good stuff so I'm Josh Abrams he's Brian s we're glad to have you here on YouTube so there was some kind of uh first quarter competition with two students Mr Kyra I didn't see who won but uh a lot of uh lot of excitement over there I see Mr Powers in the stands rooting on the Mendes group over there okay so Brian while we have a pause before we start second quarter action let's go with the first of tonight's dad jokes so Brian what is a math teacher's favorite type of treat I was expecting a basketball math teacher's favorite type of treat a plus one I don't know a plus one what does that even mean I have no idea so I mean you know for me it's always about Junior Mints but cuz they're they're chocolatey they're they're delicious no the correct answer is giama tree Gama yeah teacher favorite kind of tree you're right you're Gama thank you very much everybody you're right told you that that was one of my uh emotions nervous but so far you're one for one okay I want to give a quick shout out to Steph marks watching live here on YouTube appreciate the comments he loves seeing the gym packed and listening to the always entertaining announcers a little biased but I think he's right and of course uh Steven's wife and kids are here somewhere live at the game while Steven is stuck at work but we're back underway here second quarter action team blue leading 9 to seven so I think they had a 90 run I know was up I think it was 9 close crashing with the ball gets the shot off no good turns into a pass for Walker I think her layup is no good rebounded by team red and here they come up Cor this is Smith I thought that was going to be alop fires off the front ey are no good rebound blue Walker's going to push the action a little bit loses the handle then re regains control gets it to Johnston top of the key brings it up feeding into the corner bounce pass right on Baseline there goes Walker shooting again not afraid to shoot the rock is Miss Walker doesn't go in red has the ball fed over to Jake Smith 12year math Support over to nanof crowd favorite Jackie nanof nine-year Spanish teacher good pass good defense another one off the front iron no good blue with the ball little bit of a travel both refs missed that one the ball's turned over so play continues Maddie Collins with the ball now oh she steals it goes for a three B wow great shot is that Matty Collins three I was looking down was and there's Mr Kyra Walker gets her shot block picks it back up tries to beat cashion intercepted by number one Glenn Stout he's trying to go Coast to Coast dishes off to nanof a little trouble handling the ball Johnson quickly up ahead pass intercepted right back to Stout one-on-one with Johnson fires The Rock Off the Mark no good rebound Smith puts it backing in yeah gamer runs over here AMS Warren trying to break that uh losing streak over here okay down 97 at the half AMS Warren now up 12 to9 Walker fires and hits this layup so Amanda Walker on the board now her first two points of the game want also mention that uh she got some hell fantasy football Wise from my son Logan last season and I am told still owes him a trip to tomorrows all right so Amanda if you're watching this on the replay just let it be known the public now knows you are still in Logan's debt is it breakfast lunch like what do we talking or anything oh I only heard two marrow I did not hear anything else Collins firing for three again no good rebound red Smith trying to find the handle Off the Mark rebound red again that one's off the shot clock no good it'll be a turnover just under five minutes to go in the half and we've got a one-point game Brian you know the ref's going to let fouls go they're going to let travels go They're not going to let the ball if it hits off the clock let that go so they'll definitely call that Miss Johnson posting up let's see if she wants oh good defense wow Collins with the block Johnson goes back gets knocked aside again we've got a foul on the floor I think she might have gotten hit in the head so that's a good match up between Collins and and Miss Johnson yeah our notes tell us uh we got some great notes from the PTO and much appreciate Maddie Collins has been playing basketball since she was from when she was five straight through high school she coaches the Middle School girls basketball team who finished 9 and four earlier this year and uh she's engaged she'll be married later this year wow congratulations that is going to be an interesting match up between Miss Johnson and Miss Collins clearly they obviously both have a basketball background they were guarding each other she might have gotten clipped a little bit in the face over there and Miss Johnson went up but uh very competitive game so far absolutely Johnson misses them both but crashing gets the rebound and almost just got saved inbounds Walker lays it up no good gets her own rebound puts it back up no good Smith with a rebound and we've got a whistle going to get timeout here as we make some substitutions and again wanted to mention again that uh tonight's game presented by the ashon PTO for the past 18 years the PTO has provided enrichments to ashin schools through author visits motivational speakers artist visits and science stem programs they help with field trip busing and provide fun student activities such as the high school challenge day kids night out or ko& as they call it down there at MES the seventh and eighth grade glow party and the sixth grade night out back underway here red with the ball Stout fires no good rebound pow right over Tessier and I'm sure she's going to give him an earful as they jog back down Court Mr P giving a little fake out to the fans over there sitting behind the net oh good defense by Miss Tess here like a step back layup attempt no good here comes digo Five Points I she's the uh scoring leader tonight for both teams oh finds a player good back door cut there really nice back door cut so that's Erica Laris her first points of the night nice assist Again by Khloe power slaugh about a quick pass pulls it back and I think that was Melissa mpell on the receiving end of a great pass by Powers right down the middle puts in it's a one-point game again 320 to go in the half Tim Horton thought he might try again from that spot hasn't hit it yet here's lenorris top of the K dako she drives the Lane right through lay up and in nice I'm impressed seven points is going wild are and if you miss lerys is not only the Warren school of vice principal but the player coach of our red team so okay that pass to Powers he took his eye off it went out of bounds so red ball again they're up 1613 248 to go to nowo to Horton Horton inside to Tessier goes Baseline gets the shot off but no good loose ball Gather in by Red back up top Horton for three back iron no good balls loose red has it quick shot fire no good air ball Tessier with it now feeds it inside to Horton against Powers as a height mismatch there no good on the shot stal fires no good you know Red's doing a good job on the boards Blue's playing good defense right now just got to rebound a little bit just the powers oh that's a player coach toe was on the line absolutely got the call but good effort over there Powers directing traffic bounce past to mwan shots just off the mark follows the Zone rebound something we're trying trying to teach middle school kids all the time to follow your shot but uh goes out of bounds off blue it'll be red ball under their own basket minute 45 and counting to go here in the first half they're clearly blue their their strategy seems to kind of get the ball outside bring it down in the post get an easy layup Red's a little bit you know they're shooting the ball outside they're driving so just good to see there's no ball hogs out here on either team a very you know un selfish kind of game yeah EXA exactly so got a foul on the floor no basket clock stops at the minute 19 to go it's a non-sh shooting foul so red inbounds back outside to dako I'll make that might have a little tip on that play okay oh John say the ball taken away Powers blocks the shot almost unfair with that height Advantage I forgot how tall Mr Powers is okay so it'll went off of red final minute of play here Mr Horton almost got that back to Powers Here Comes M Horton oh I saw that coming PR is Powers did not see it coming here's Horton going Coast to Coast gets fou and one oh M with a blatant foul and Horton will go to the line to shoot two me and Mr Horton were talking earlier when we got here ultimate goal besides having fun is no injuries injuries abely absolutely so also just want to go back talk about the PTO really quick some upcoming PTO events include mystery readers at the Warren school as well as literacy night a readathon of the elementary schools and the sixth grade night out coming up soon on March 7th you can learn more about the ashin PTO at Ashlin clocker pto.com they're always looking for new members and board members current open positions include secretary director of program operations and AMS PTO chair is Horton hit the bottom oh hit them both both good job you know last year we didn't know Tim Horton very well other than uh you know his being the namesake for that restaurant chain up in Canada now into the uh Northern United States we had a very nice trip to a Tim Horton in Toronto last spring I heard yep he's is he one of the coaches base um soccer coach he's a baseball coach Middle School baseball coach y okay final 16 seconds Tessier going to get CAU on that travel they've been pretty generous most of the night but they call that one I think we're under minute left you got the ref's keeping a little bit tighter yep okay Caitlyn Clark back into the game she'll inbound Horton was looking to press a little bit dials it back see if they see the clock is coming down I don't I'm surprised the fans are calling the clock down okay missini had it for a moment gets knocked away here comes Horton on a break away last second gets it off but no good no good croud groans did not fall hardest thing is that that wide open layup but uh good game it's a lot of pressure big crowd here tonight at the half the Ashlin middle school and Warren team red they are winning 18-13 over the high school and Mendes team blue we're going to take a quick break here send it back to the studio and we'll have a quick word from our sponsors you are watching the clocker classic on waca today's game is brought to you in par by Marathon Deli Marathon Deli offers a full range of lunch and dinner items for dining or catering finded Co Cuts cheeses and meats also available in addition to Specialty wraps such as the Mayflower wrap as well as the honey bee wrap they'll be sure to get your mouth watering serving Metro West for over 24 years give them a call at 508 2311 1859 or find them on the web at Marathon deli.com tonight's game is brought to you in part by town House pizza subs roast beef and more be sure to fill up with the buffalo chicken cow Zone that's been called one of the best in the [Music] area located at 300 Elliot Street in Ashlin give them a call at 508 88131 or find them on the web at townhouse pizz roast be.com [Music] e [Music] all [Music] if you are in third grade or up please come you're third up [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you [Music] [Applause] [Music] right now the only [Music] people every single one of you is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] okay [Applause] okay [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] summer I feel like must [Music] [Applause] job good job good job [Music] all right [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] all [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] first [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] fin yeah [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] my trouble [Music] yo what just [Music] happened you hold [Music] what you were slaming a block from the K what he say bro I don't know nothing when he walked over what he said said stop said more than that no he he looked way more yeah he [Music] and welcome back to waa coverage of the clocker classic second half about to get underway team team red with a slight lead here 18-13 it's been a back and forth contest all night as we uh waiting to get underway here again I'm Josh Abrams Brian s glad to have you with us here on YouTube yeah you know we we just witnessed a crazy um Simon Says game that was the halftime show and I learned oh almost the back court ref did not call that Mr Kyra has that a very serious um Simon says so all the third and over all went out got eliminated and Miss Johnson with a lefty shot over there last year's scoring leader okay Sweeny Chong green the ball up still learning the game got called for double dribble last time picks up the dribble now starts again no call play continues Grace trying to find an opening gets it off to the wing shot is rimmed and in oh a little dance little shimmy little celebrity dance I like it celebration dance there's a three pass shot over there I'm just trying to figure out which teacher that is I oh there Moore Moore Caroline Moore Caroline Moore so two teams have traded baskets here another basket I guess it's 20 to 15 now inbound by Blue and in that was Danielle River with her first points of the night offense really picking it up here in the second half had a little bit of a struggle in the first half Johnson with the ball trying to drive kicks it back out to Grace little give and go now between grace and Johnson Johnson bounce pass in to baty oh a fancy pass top of the key Mo over to Chong who fires wildly and out of bounds but not afraid to shoot the rockan just a bit outside but she's loving it though I love the smile honestly absolutely blue brings the ball up Kelly inside cutting Baseline is Johnson no good gets her own rebound that one also Off the Mark rebound by Red almost a carry yep ref might have just look the other way on that one but Caroline Grace bringing the ball up to chong chong getting some pressure now double trible not call not call it but really loosen the r here Caroline Moore with the ball dishing off to The Far Side to Bache backing it in looking for a shot righty shot off a bank fire Rivera with the rebound blue has the ball down by three 540 and counting to go here in the third quarter Walker trying to drive Baseline up and in oh that was a nice started with the right finished with the left okay so Amanda Walker two points in the first half two points now here in the second half it's a one-point game as team red brings the ball up and just a reminder of tonight's game sponsored in part by Townhouse Pizza and roast beef be sure to fill up on the buffalo chicken cow Zone that's been called one of the best in the area located at 300 Elliot Tre and Ashlin giv them a call at 508 881-3010 or find them on the web at tanous pizz roast beef.com 5 minutes to go here in the third quarter gyro pushing ahead now to Walker one-on-one with Johnson drives left side no good rebound by Johnson so I think blue has at least three or four lefties playing they love that Lefty layup over there okay missing making it oh deep shot Bache with a switch wow and she's on the board Bella Bache All 4 foot n of her made a note that she's always the most decorated classroom goes all out for every event and holiday and now a basket here in the clocker classic walker with a rebound with a putback four points for the half six total for Walker Timeout on the floor with Middle School war and Warren up by one over the high school and Mendes yep our uh traditional sub timeout fresh legs the key with the clocker classic is have fun and no injuries which is half the reason why we're not playing right could get seriously hurt out there that's right and we both know we need our faces and we need our bodies just to get up and down the stairs a little pick over there on Mr Powers I love it okay jakee Smith gets it over to Stout Stout trying to drive through the lane wild shot Off the Mark blue with the rebound a little bit of pressure from stout now Powers has the ball matching up with Horton actually match up with Smith my mistake bounce pass out to mazini Fires for three off the glass no misses everything and out of bounds just to the right so no we we had a bunch of three-pointers in the first half I think for two in the second half still early okay Jake Smith Mass support bringing the ball up here for red dishes off to Collins feet inside all alone Baseline can't get it to fall Smith crashes the boards for the rebound Stout is open Howard takes it away and here's a fast break for team blue theeni stops and sees oh dishes a three-pointer oh a banker the bank is open for mazini you know I feel like they just opposite my Jinx I was like there's no three-pointers and she's and look like she got a little intimidated on The Fast Break decided not to go all the way instead steps back and drains a three off glass poers dribbles off his foot red gets the ball and they are on transition now Collins driving left side and in layup is good Collins does not miss the third year sixth grade counselor former basketball player okay blue inbounds mazini bring the ball up under 240 to go here in the third quarter we've got a tie game here Brian tie game 24-24 you know they're they're playing hard this is uh good defense by Red turnover by Blue Smith and stout had a two-on-one good defense just off the mark stop battling for the rebound but Powers bursts in with a rebound his leading pass intercepted by Collins Stout all alone kind of cherry picking shot is no [Music] good stth finds Nat off underneath she can't get it to fall and blue comes up with it here's mazini up ahead ball ends up back with misini she has the layup off the glass no good rebound red that's Collins and we got a time out on the floor yeah got make some subs here and opportunity here for our second dad joke of the game so I can't say geometry I got it okay I'm ready okay why did the teacher wear sunglasses in the classroom why did the teacher wear sunglasses anything to do with Subs maybe sunglasses no nothing is sunglass why would you wear sunglasses in a submarine I don't know no I'm thinking about having a substitute but oh we're back underway Brian will continue thinking about that I I will think quietly so I don't ruin the game okay that shot Off the Mark but get red gets their own rebound rainbow just misses Powers with the rebound minute 20 or so to go here in the third quarter still a tie game Powers bringing the ball [Music] up mazini guarded closely by nanof tries to drive Baseline picks up her dribble pass to powers powers with the deak the layup no good rebound red rebound by Smith Smith has Collins cutting all alone to the hoop no good ball is loose Collins tracks down on rebound passes off to a teammate given go Smith downloaded Nan off guarded closely can't get the shot off good defense pass inside rebound rebound red puts it back up no good and blue comes down with the final 35 seconds of the quarter there's Megan Maguire her son was a senior on the basketball team is that Kevin um no that's her husband I think no no no not Kevin but he was my defensive player of the game when he called the game with uh with Daniel just off okay okay so I give up I have no idea about the sunglasses so so the teacher the teacher wore sunglass in the classroom because their student students were so bright I like that one all right there you I like it I like that one final 10 seconds here berom feeds inside to Collins Collins guarded closely nanof gets the shot off rims out no good Collins with a rebound 3 seconds now shoot it pass to nobody As Time expires and so we head to the fourth quarter tied to 24 we'll take a quick break a word from our sponsors you're watching the clocker classic on W CA today's game is brought to you in part by Marathon Deli Marathon Deli offers a full range of lunch and dinner items for dining or catering fine Co Cuts cheeses and meats also available in addition to Specialty wraps such as the Mayflower wrap as well as the honey bee wrap they'll be sure to get your mouth watering serving Metro West for over 24 years give them a call at 58 231859 or find them on the web at Marathon deli.com tonight's game is brought to you in part by townhouse pizza subs roast beef and more be sure to fill up with the buffalo chicken cow Zone that's been called one of the best in the [Music] area located at 300 Elliot Street in Ashlin give them a call at 508 88131 or find them on the web at townhouse pizz roast beef.com and welcome back to waca coverage of special Sports presentation the annual clocker Classic basketball game featuring faculty from ashin high school and the Mendes School matching up against ashin middle school and the Warren school if you're just joining us and when I say us I mean Brian s and myself fourth quarter action it's a tie game 2424 got a little bit of a fun time here on the court is uh Mr Kyra leading the uh leading the way in between quarters and halftime entertainment for the kids or third quarter between the third and fourth quarter entertainment right here not sure what they're doing but they have teachers out so this could be the kids moment over here they'll be able to watch us back on waca and okay while we while we're watching this footage just want to uh go through some Game notes we were provided get to know some of these teachers a little bit better so we had mentioned earlier Bella Bachi of course she very proud of her 4 fo9 height and uh tells us she has the most decorated classroom goes all out for every event and holiday Caroline more we I don't think we mentioned this yet but uh she played basketball in middle school and made the Massachusetts All-Star team in the sixth grade moving over to the Middle School Maddie Collins and she's had a good night here on the court played basketball straight through high school she coaches the Middle School girls basketball team which finished 9 and four on the season and congratulations to Maddie will'll be getting married later later this year Jake Smith his fourth clocker classic so he might be uh the most experienced teacher on the floor tonight yeah uh Aaron guerro one of the nurses at the high school or moved on to the high school now played basketball through college Jessica Kelly coaches JV softball for Ashlin at high school soccer in Shrewsberry Lindsay Johnson of course no stranger to the clocker classic played basketball here at Ashlin High School a thousand Point scorer here for the clockers and also played at salv Regina University Natalie mazini is in her College's intramural Hall of Fame for basketball and uh you might remember that uh she had the bank shot three-point shot big Bank three-pointer what led to this tie game as we enter the fourth quarter and that's why she's a Hall of Famer that's right that's right Cory McAn played high school basketball and almost walked on at Providence College as he made it to the final round of cuts Melissa misspell this is her second clocker classic and she coaches uh High School field hockey in Lacrosse for Ashlin and runs the ashin youth field hockey program and finally Danielle Rivera who played basketball right here at Ashlin high school so uh lot of basketball experience on the court here tonight I realiz we had a Hall of Famer and you know Miss Johnson which you know if you're back at the ashon high school gymnasium you'll see her name her maiden name Miss shuy yep so thousand Point uh on the on the banner here on it's it's it's it's almost laminated so it's it's a great honor very few kids athletes uh have that opportunity so clearly back in her day was playing you can tell the way she plays here has a really good post game so absolutely and of course a final reminder for those of you watching us live here on YouTube we are monitoring the chat so feel free to drop a comment in there and let us know your name and where you're watching from we talk about this during the varsity games all the time that clocker Nation goes coast to coast and uh of course you know listen to your favorite player yeah if you have a really good dad joke you know keep it clean feel free to share it and speaking of dad jokes I've got another one for you so we got three so I told you I was nervous I'm not nervous anymore no no we got plenty here tonight so next dad joke why did the teacher go to the beach to to get a day off on the weekend like uh love sharks um needed some I have no idea went to the beach to test the waters teacher went to the beach to test the waters thank you very much everybody next year it's in the budget we'll have some drums and all that stuff or the sound bites the uh the crowd okay well it looks like we're getting ready here to start the fourth quarter the final 8 minutes of this year's clocker class I need you to get off the back court get off the back court please get off the back court so it started off first quarter The Blue Team the defending Champions were up 9 to7 second quarter red uh came back up 18-13 to end the first half we have a tie game going to the fourth quarter over here I'll tell you what you couldn't ask for anything better here nice close game evenly matched two teams here and again want to just give a quick shout out to the Ashlin PTO who put this all together much appreciated it's a great event last year it's an even better one this year just a great great Community event seeing all these kids and parents families together here tonight watching and cheering on their teachers dako firing for three oh hit just about every part of the rim but did not fall fall out of bounds going to be but that will not be her last shot of the game not at all so blue ball here Kelly's going to bring the ball up supporting V uh rainbow shorts over there last year it was more of the socks yeah that's it helped us this year you know we're thankful last names are on the jerseys so a good move by Kelly can she finish just off the rim okay Jessica Kelly of course one of the fifth grade teachers here in Ashland Here Comes dako firing oh a misfire Horton caught sleep and he was wide open the pass was there and they're going to laugh about that one as they Dr back up Court yeah they might be talking about that tomorrow morning during a coffee break oh yeah oh yeah we worked on that play that was 2.0 got to hit that okay so Jessica again with the ball dish to mwan Gowan sizing things up trying to her post game is Unstoppable once again here Johnson is all business when she's scoring oh good defense by Blue yeah that was mcel he gets Stripped by Horton FES off to Laris that's the player coach lar sees the pick I think Josh Wendy put that shot up before he realized where he was had no angle no angle underneath the basket 620 and Counting team blue up by two Johnson picks up her dribble to Jessica beats it over to Clark Caitlyn Clark not not the Caitlyn Clark but I guess in Ashlin she could she is the ashin Caitlyn as Kell trying to find an opening guarded very closely by Chloe trying to feed inside to Horton but inside to Johnson the pass is complete quick shot there by m gets the hoop and we're going to get a time out I got that as mcan's first points of the night yeah but you know it's NE you know there's a little bit of intensity right now I mean these teams are both playing a win maybe the NBA should kind of watch this exhibition match on how they should do their allar game and play with some heart okayo brings the ball up drives the lane kicks out to Horton Horton quickly over to lonar deakes the shot now drives in right-handed layup off the top of the backboard no good out of bounds and another turnover lar will inbound or sorry blue inbounding here yep Maguire like her son in his last uh home game for the varsity team great defense Maguire's playing some good defense over there Walker tries to drive left side kicks it back outside now mazini working around the around the perimeter Rivera drives Baseline dishes off to Walker good follow through but can't get the shot to fall loose ball Tracked Down by Horton he'll bring the ball up couple slips on the court ah good post kick back outside Laris pulls it back Horton stops Fires for three oh he had it lined up he wanted it he wanted that nice follow up by Sweeney oh defense by Walker Horton keeps it in but turns it over to team blue but strip Chloe Tano picks it up goes back for three just off the mark rebound blue dangerous passes turn over again Horton can't get it to fall follows his shot and this time it does hit you know you don't see a press in exhibition but there's there's some defense going on right now I have that Horton's first field goal of the night to go with a couple of foul shots another turnover here Horton fast breaking ahead to Chloe dako tries to get off against Rivera and gets foul that's on the floor and we'll get another set of substitutions the clock stops 402 to go in the game team team Blue teue by two team blue is up by two 28 26 that actually was a really smart F because um dako Khloe she was going for the layup so I think that slowed it down a little bit I think it's should be Blue's ball right I got red in yeah you're right blue full court press in an exhibition game don't tell me this doesn't matter oh no it's red going down okay but they're look at this Miss Johnson defense Aaron gy with the rebound see now red pressing trying to dribble out of a triple team they start to dial it back a little bit Aaron gets it off to Lindsay Johnson up ahead now dangerous pass gathered in the Baseline they kick it back up top well reset the half court offense Johnson slung it down to Clark back to Johnston oh that that's what she did last last year too she owns that post game it's so nice I have her up to 10 points on the night and and suddenly this is a four-point game with the high school and Mendes up 30 to 26 we have our mascot over here the clocker so I think last year uh Miss Johnson had 10 points this this year 10 points as well doing her thing okay red is going to inbound under the basket looks like Joe berom education support professional inbound for red gets it to Johnson Johnson gets her shot blocked tries to track it down there's a scrum underneath and Lindsay Johnson comes up with it up ahead to crashing a little bit of a walk a wild shot no good CH with the ball and we have a time out I think red wants a timeout looks like red out but blue is keeping their players in I forgot the coaches the the U teacher who's coaching right now she's taking this pretty seriously I love it oh absolutely there's some strategy I love this so by the way before we forget I do want to give a special thanks again exhibition game but our crew is out here tonight so Jeff Paul Jeff Hall Paul Bowden Brady monoco Nick hunningham they're the ones for bringing you all the uh sound and video of the clocker classic so guys thanks a lot lot great job as always Brian and I certainly appreciate it always here early I mean they've done so many basketball games men women hockey game oh not hockey um I've done a couple hockey games too have they done hockey as well okay yeah but almost every basketball game it's crazy oh Miss Johnson oh that was a nice rejection okay blue brings the ball up nursing a four-point lead just over two minutes to go gyro tries to pass it gets intercepted by Red they've got numbers if they hurry but a wild pass kloe Hut dnas with dako with a great Hustle but can't track it down probably uh one of the best opportunities of the night for team red and they cannot connect no blue ball team blue look like they're making a a substitution on the T on the uh whistle 203 to go so red is pressing right now they got Collins and so is that a timeout okay and I'm I'm checking the chat I see that our longtime waa broadcaster Rob silver has checked in and he's awarding his silver medal to Johnson I believe he's referring to Lindsay John team blue Rob if you want to uh want to clarify make sure we got that right CU we do have a Caroline Johnson we do have two Johnson that's right a rookie teacher kindergarten teacher on team red but she's not on the board so I'm feeling pretty good that he he is referring to Lindsay Johnson yep so we have a timeout we have some Mr kyver getting grabbing two fans could this be for the million dooll shot or while we're while we're figuring this out just again a final thank you to the ashin PTO for putting together tonight's clocker classic event they do a whole lot for the uh for the school district you can learn all about them at Ashlin clocker pto.com slout they're always looking for new members and board members current open position positions include secretary director of program operations and the middle school PTO chair yeah Special thanks for Kate for kind of helping you and I kind of get all this information helping out with the insights and takes a lot of work to get took a lot yeah pulled this all together and of course I saw a lot of high school students here tonight with the Make A Wish Foundation so they're helping out as well all the uh food and beverage that were available outside for this Crow always a great fundraiser like uh oh absolutely I just love it on Thursday night little chilly out raining place is packed right now and I think what I always love is at the end of the day at teachers the impact that they have on you know both you and I have kids they're here to support you know their teachers their Heroes and there's a lot of love you could tell with the uh the students the parents and the teacher so it's a great event absolutely I love how you and I get a front row seat over here here so we have a little mini competition going on over here we have a two on two haven't seen a lot of shots made yet but if we have one shot to the right if up that's two shots also want to uh thank tonight's sponsor you've certainly seen their commercials during the breaks but uh thank you to Marathon Deli as well as tanous pizza and roast beef couple of great restaurant options here in Ashland y I had something at Marathon the other day I've never ordered I went there for soup it was meant to be shared amongst my daughter myself and I'm like Joey I don't share food so that soup was basically for me chicken noodle so besides their sandwiches okay well final check here here on the uh on the YouTube live stream chat and uh Rob silver did clarify did confirm in fact that tonight's silver medal a winner from Rob silver Lindsey Johnson 10 points so far fifth grade teacher 13 years of experience here in Ashlin and per Rob's request we will do one more dad joke are you ready I am ready I told you I was excited and nervous so okay so here we go final dad joke of the night what is a teacher's favorite Nation teacher's favorite Nation that's right teacher favorite Nation look this is a is this a history kind of well I can't give you any clues I know um either you know or you know I I don't know so so so fa teacher favorite nation is expl Nation exp explan Nation I like it save the best for the last so that's right that's right all right so we have two minutes we we have a press from Red 3026 blue they're defending Champions ooh they're going to call it tight here in the final minute 55 or so that foul called against Khloe dako blue inbounds here by Center Court mazini with the ball now trying to go down the wing now looking to go Baseline gets stripped ball Tracked Down by Macwan drives Baseline turned over bero with it Joe ber and he'll slow things down y minute 30 or so to go red is trying to break that streak over here sees Collins oh good pass Stout St save by Horton feeds Collins cuts the lane and gets fouled she'll go to the line yep again four point four-point lead minute 12 to go Al though they're running the clock again oh I thought it was a shooting foul let's think I thought it was a shooting foul as well it is a yeah they have stopped the clock now shooting two no Miss Collins I think you're the one supposed to be shooting this okay so substitution for red Stout is out and I'm not sure which of these teachers just came in need to see the name on the back of the Jersey which by the way my compliments to the clocker classic and the PTO for putting names on the back of the jerseys this year as Collins underhand free throw just so rare to see that today it's in today's game but our sixth grade teacher is bringing it back two for two B those are a couple of big free throws y two points with a minute six to go red dottling up the pressure Lindsay Johnson bringing the ball up our silver midal winner tonight that's the pick McAn dribbles out guarded closely by Horton goes for the steel doesn't get it McAn still with the ball up top to Kelly beating John at the foul line she's trying to drive against a double team and she gets fouled she'll go to the line to shoot to it's all fun and games until the last minute so absolutely I love it so potentially very important foul shots here it's a two-point lead Johnson could put them up by four if she hits them both you think granny or regular she goes regular just misses top of the rim I'm starting to wonder if they've replaced the rim since the last time since she played here in high school probably I'm I'm guessing the floors is a little bit little tackier little tackier as well all right she make one needs one to keep him that three couldn't hit it red with the rebound Here Comes thought that was hor has H yet okay driving in dishes off are they going to go for three to tie or knock oh she lost the handle a huge turnover they're going to have a 10-second violation move the ball I don't think they're aware of it Kelly gets hit falls to the floor travel call the travel over here red travel and got the refs to agree 25.5 seconds to go so even though blue is high school I think red has the home court advantage right now they're pushing for for an upset maybe a tie to overtime have we ever had a tie at the clock the classic I I'm not I'm not aware bery inbounds to Horton hort fires it up just off the back iron no good loose ball and out of bounds red ball boy they are getting every opportunity the middle schol Warren they're down by two 19.9 seconds to go Tim hortal inbound for the red team Horton of course an eighth grade civics teacher four years of three years of four years of experience here in Ashlin they need a three-pointer over here hands it off to Smith Fires for three to tie no good rebound down red ball loose blue has it for a moment bodies flying everywhere and we've got a jump ball and red has The Possession out because of course they do of course they do 4.6 seconds to go no they're giving it to Blue no I thought they G it to [Laughter] R hey fans do you think it was possession all right [Applause] apparently maybe the refs can't be Bots but they can be influenced they at the clocker classic they and we're going to get a timeout they're going to talk this one over this is not a sub time this is actual timeout strategy down by oh down by two I'm sorry I thought they were down by three so all right okay here we go 3028 ties it it was 24 24 so we've only had 10 total points in this quarter it's been a defensive battle defensive battle here in the fourth look clearing for any confetti on the floor make sure no one slips y see blue had a chance to [Applause] defend and uh red I think you're right about that homecourt Advantage for team red middle school and Warren crowd is on its feet here at the Ashlin high school gym again a quick game reset 4.6 seconds to go in the fourth quarter team blue up by two red inbounding under the blue basket the old stack play Chloe way up top to Smith oh and he gets F by Walker St the CL Walker Walker was looking for the jump ball going to put 3 seconds on the clock red is going to inbound again I believe leave in front of their own bench don't know 3 seconds over here so Smith will inbound here for team red the old stack play really stack play huh it's the only play I know thought you were making a reference to our fantasy footb oh no no no here we go okay into Chloe guarded close trying to get the shot off she gets it off oh almost no good almost what a shot what a game despite multiple multiple opportunities team red cannot close the deal and they fall tonight in the clocker classic 30 to 28 as team blue the high school in Mendes retains the title for another year you know they won the game but the fans clearly gave the game to Red I think uh couple of nice call calls by the refs to give the red a chance a little the you know we got the Oscar coming up on Sunday everyone's about a good story over there try to get that Arc but you know this was a great game it's uh we had two high school games that came down of the wire we're ending the last indoor game on a great game like that so absolutely so so again your final tonight team blue takes the win 30 to 28 over team red so that's the high school MZ winning against the Middle School in Warren again our thanks to the Ashlin PTO for putting this event together another great job by the PTO a wonderful Community night here in Ashland also want to thank our sponsors Townhouse Pizza and roast beef as well as Marathon Deli and want to thank tonight's crew Brady monino Nick Cunningham Jeff Hall and Paul Bowden for bringing us all of the audio and video tonight and of course want to thank my broadcast partner Brian s for joining me once again court side to announce this one this is two years in a row for me I'm hoping I I get the invite next year I I love this game I love calling this with you it's always been fun 516 um great game competitive game both teams wanted it and I just love the environment here just a lot of energy um a competitive game but great sportsmanship on both sides lot of smiles a lot of fun a lot of fun a lot of joy and uh I don't think any injuries so as a teacher so that's a win no injuries that's a win yeah no but honestly well done well this will wrap up wca's winter sports schedule keep an eye on our Facebook and exp posts for our spring sports live streaming schedules we head back to covering Varsity Sports here in ashin if you're interested in joining our announcing or production teams drop me a line at Josh at wac.net I'm Josh Abram saying thanks for watching and go clockers today's game is brought to you in par by Marathon Deli Marathon Deli offers a full range of lunch and dinner items for dining or catering find Co Cuts cheeses and meats also available in addition to Specialty wraps such as the Mayflower wrap as well as the honey bee wrap they'll be sure to get your mouth watering serving Metro West for over 24 years give them a call at 508 231 1859 or find them on the web at Marathon deli.com tonight's game is brought to you in part by townhouse pizza subs roast beef and more be sure to fill up with the buffalo chicken cow Zone it's been called one of the best in the [Music] area located at 300 Elliot Street in Ashlin give them a call at 508 8813 010 or find them on the web at townhouse pizz roast.com

thank you for February 27th 2025 it is now 6:30 p.m uh we have a couple of our members uh online tonight um and then we have some members here tonight so uh this meeting specifically is set to be about the budget so uh before we get started and I turn to over to Dr brosman why don't we do the pledge I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible justice for all so before we get off with Dr rman I'll open up to public comment does anybody have anything I'll start with the audience anybody in the audience tonight have anything for public comment okay hearing none will go to online and if any anybody online has any comment please just mention your name your address and uh remember tonight is specifically about the budget so we're hoping you'll keep your questions to that I have raised hand from Lis okay Lisa how are you tonight I think it's working thank you so much yep I appreciate the opportunity to give some feedback tonight oh my gosh I'm just uh sorry I just ran into the door okay um first thing I wanted to say was thank you for rescheduling this workshop and maintaining an open dialogue and I want to thank the board of education for implementing the cell phone policy um recently my um Canton High School junior recently told me that the YouTube uh app is going to be blocked soon on the laptops and I personally am a big fan of that and I'm happy to hear that information um okay I look through this superintendent package and I wanted to provide some feedback um on page 13 there's a graphic showing the national rate of inflation versus the Canton Public Schools audited rate of increase and um I don't know why we're not looking at a regional or local rate of inflation instead um because canton's constantly comparing itself to other schools in the state or other schools in the region um throughout the whole portfolio of the superintendent's budget so it just seems um that we should compare ourselves fiscally to um the rate of inflation locally as well um on page 14 there was a line item for new personnel and I know that was discussed last year so um since I was an advocate for not hiring new Personnel I would like that to be elaborated on if it's possible um on page 15 there's a p graph that shows 80% of the budget is Staffing and benefits and um what I had asked for last year um was if it was possible to break down the cost of the Staffing Which percentage is Administration Which percentage is um teachers Which percentage is support staff and if that could be shown over the years like what it was in 2022 2023 you know 2024 and and I haven't seen that information um maybe I'm missing it maybe it is somewhere and someone can enlighten me um on page 21 there's a a a doubling cost of District Safety and Security and if that could be elaborated on I would appreciate it um I recently learned that the Board of Education payroll specialist is not in the board of education budget but in the board of selectman budget and I would like that explained um on page 21 benefits is requested to be a million dollars more than it was last year and I need to understand if that's because of contractual uh obligations or mandates of some kind that I'm not aware of um um on page 23 Fuel and Communications funding is also requested to be double over what was spent in 2024 so if that could be elaborated on um and on page 20 24 the district technology infrastructure includes um hbac which I found very confusing and um yeah I just wanted to know what the Staffing levels were versus enrollment over the years um and administration versus Staffing levels versus enrollment over the years and and I haven't seen that anywhere um and that's it I really appreciate the opportunity Pro to provide feedback thank you very much okay thank you for those comments when the superintendent goes through the presentation tonight some of those questions might get answered if they don't one of the things you may want to do we have them listed but if you want to check back you could uh you could check back U to the district office we make sure you get you those answerers for as much of it as we can I would I would draw your attention to page 17 um where it has a Personnel summary of some of the expenses there but I don't know if that fully answers your question um but we'll get back to you on the others than thank that's what the budget workshop for so thank you for those questions I don't have any other raised hands no other raised hands for tonight okay um hearing none I I think what we'll do is we'll ask the superintendent to I know we have some questions and I think he's going to highlight some some uh points uh for us and uh we'll see if we have any board questions after we hear from the superintendent Dr BR super thank you Mr Daniels um Mrs nardy is going to pass out a uh PowerPoint for uh for each board member in the community here and this will all this is also for the people that are online and for the people that are watching this by a take uh this also is posted on our website under budget so um very transparent with all this information and I will do the best that I can in our team that is here to actually address Mrs C's questions so I think we could hit them all tonight and since it's a budget Workshop I would recommend that if we don't answer the questions to bring Mrs hogin back on to do a followup it's a workshop I don't mind that at all I think they're uh valid questions and I believe some of them we were prepar to answer based upon some of the questions that board members asked and uh the rest I think my team here and with Mr Robins online we could address that so what I'd like to do is just to give you a a brief summary of what was presented uh at the administrative Budget on February 11th I just want to remind the the board and the community that the budget is grounded in a vision of the camp po schools with creative thinker Communicator collaborator critical thinker a compassionate citizen this budget aligns with the Board of Education goals of student growth and achievement partnership and Community engagement Financial sustainability and efficient operations learning environment and belonging embracing equity and Workforce Development the board of education budget priorities have always been at least since I've been here for the past year and a half student achievement in all areas across the district maintain class SI according to the Canton Board of Education policy focus on teaching learning professional development so social emotional well-being of students and staff provide a safe and healthy environment propose a fiscally responsible budget that aligns with the c Board of Education goals the budget that was proposed by the administrators some of the highlights include the C Public Schools will continue to refine student performance data collection practices and protocols in order to further further support the growth of each and every student establish responsive responsive multi-year technology Improvement plan to ensure operational efficiency alignment of culture and climate practices through vertical teams using data to inform programmatic needs and responses collaboration with State and Regional Partnerships professional learning and responsibilities time resources to support the continued growth of certified and non-certified staff and provide continued Safety and Security for our school Community the next slide I just want to remind everyone of where I was on February 11 but also remind everyone on the board in the community that I also presented a budget in December a forecast budget at that time that was a 5.97% increase in December so when I reported to you on February 11th of where the min ministrative budget was at that time it was a budget of 32,9 4,801 and what is represented in here are salaries of an increase of 990 which is 3.03% health and benefits which is a big number which is 989,50 77,000 from what I presented to you if you recall in December when we got new um numbers from our health insurance company we're going to come back to that because I believe there are board members that have some questions on that of why our insurance went up so much and I do have a question so I appreciate Mrs Cogan's question because if you just take salaries health and benefits Insurance property liability transportation and Fuel and I'll ask Mrs Robins a little bit later to address that electricity heating oil and natural gas just to roll over I was 6.28 fixed cost of just to roll from what we had this year in 2425 to roll to 2526 it's not including any new personnel which I'll talk about in a minute just to roll over was a 6.28 we do have the special education decrease of what we spent this year to what we're going to spend next year and then if you look at Athletics educational technology reference books instruction materials student support facilities tech services travel and meetings it's a012 so when I say this is not a budget that is made up of new supplies or any new initiatives it is not a budget that is making up anything new for our school district it's maintaining what we have and pushing forward with what we have we do have new personel in here which we'll talk about and then I did make some Personnel reductions and Personnel moved to some grants so on February 11th I proposed a budget to you of 5.88% over the increase and if you look above just to roll over was 6.28 so there was a lot of reductions that we needed to look at but from February 11 to when I had to present to you on on February 11th to where we are now some things changed so that's what happens it's a fluid process as we work through a a workshop and what I do want to remind you though of what I did have to take out to get to the 5.88 because you remember from the forecasting budget I was at 5.97 and I had to add in $577,000 because at that time in December I had no idea that insurance was going to be a 20% increase we're actually factoring it in on in December as a 7% increase so that's a 133% jump so when you take the health insurance small Capital that is being added now in negotiations I had the difference that I now had to make up from December to that February 11th was $654,000 that brought me into the seven I knew that I was not going to bring a 70% budget to the board of education so we did reduce a classroom teacher a special education par educator a maintenance employee that was uh proposed non-existing maintenance of proposed new maintenance some retirement savings software and infrastructure software to open Choice CMS basketball was proposed we cut professional development by 20,000 board bed supplies and recognition by 5,000 and then we had some Savings of Social Security I am moving back as I discussed at our last meeting the preschool that is at CIS that was costing us $46,000 in transportation moving the preschool to Cherrybrook that we could save 46,000 I did have some playground equipment in there for our preschool that we needed to get at CIS if we were going to do there and then I moved some Personnel into various grants in District meeting and traveled 5,000 and then if you remember I told you that we're going to start a new program for special ed next year with the savings projected at $55,000 from so from the time that I presented you to in December to February 11th I cut $84,000 already out of the budget to get me to the 5.88 Mrs mle is going to be here next Tuesday to talk about the new program for special education to uh just explain the the the program the best that we can right now without um we're in contract negotiations but she's going to explain what it it's about so right there you could see $84,000 I did reduce and that also affected our open Choice uh grant funding that U we moved our dishwasher that we need for the high school family consumer science we that to Small Capital as I said last time I want the community and the board to know this is not the dishwasher that if you're fortunate enough to have a dishwasher at your house this is not a dishwasher that you have at your house this is a commercial dishwasher for a school so this isn't anything that we could get a donation for this is a commercial dishwasher to help with our family in consumer Science Program technology replacement we're moving $30,000 for our Middle School Chromebooks into the Commissioners Network Grant I did cut the teacher and residents um that we were looking at knowing as I mentioned that we would not be able to guarantee that we would have a job for the individual because our enrollment is going down a human resource specialist was proposed uh we cut that out and I did cut uh two mtss parent Educators for 22500 ,000 that was an open choice but I had to move software that was in our general budget into our open Choice budget that's all review everybody if you watched the video the last time those were all things that I spoke about on February 11th so what happened from February 11th to February 27th where we are now I do want to share before I go into that and it was asked by Mrs Cogan's new staff request we have three of them social worker point5 District uh for our Thrive program either way that would be in the budget if we were going to uh not create that position that that those funds of 33,500 it would be more than that because the student would have to be outplaced so we're bringing the part-time social worker in to save us money of being able to bring a a student um back then you can see after school campus supervisors that we would have one for um an after school at CMS in Sanz this is nothing new this was proposed in last year's budget and then we had the campus supervisors for Cherry Brook and Ken Intermediate School at two of them one for the Intermediate School one for Cherrybrook at 19,800 those are the only three new Staffing positions in the budget now there there was a question question by uh Mrs cogins regarding the the Personnel summary sheet and the Personnel summary sheet that is on page I believe 17 within your budget book Mrs cogin did ask a great question of Canim we have it from 23 22 I would love to be able to do that but the lack of information and really going back into before my arrival um it's not there the the data is not up to a standpoint of putting it in a a chart like how we have it today so what we um the best that we could do is do 25 and 26 to feel that our our data is accurate a as we move forward but from a a staffing standpoint there's no new Staffing so some of the changes and it will address one of the other questions that was uh asked in public comment well when we presented that in Fe 11 we presented 75 kindergarten students well the message must have got out there to the community that you need to register your children quickly so since we reported 75 we are now up to 105 kindergarten students so the budget was proposed with five sections and now parents have heard us so parents are listening they are now registering for kindergarten and we we feel right now that's a pretty solid number of 105 it's about where Peter prowder actually said it was going to be he thought it would be about 110 NASDAQ when we did it thought it was going to be about 125 121 so we think we're going to land on 105 and I always told you when we were proposing the when I proposed the forecast the budget and then when I propose the ministrative budget on February 11th that we're going to do it as a static number where we are at that time well I'm sharing with you that we're at 105 and the recommendation is that needs to go into six sections and on the chart the next chart of page 11 you could see that we added in that six sections and that it would be at 17.5 if we go to if we go to Five sections it's too many kindergarteners in a classroom that we would go out out of the policy Jordan does that include potential waiver so it does it does so we have 15 possible waivers in there if we go upon our history all 15 are going to come into the I just wanted to make sure that it what's not included in here is we're really going to have to look at our open Choice um numbers of allowing any students um from Harford to be entering in as uh kindergarten but as you can as you can see have having that kindergarten it's not any new staff remember in the my budget I actually cut a classroom teacher at Cher Brook now I have to put it back in so if you go to the next page you'll see that our budget from February 11th to where we are now if you take the 5.88 and you add back in that kindergarten teacher at 57384 it goes that's a16 and then it brings our increase up to a 6.04 I want to remind the board and the community if I didn't have that insurance increase of a 20% this budget would be in the high 3es to Fours that that 20% for health insurance which we're going to talk about in a little bit that is something that is driving this budget this is not a budget that and you'll see that is anything that is really new except the the new Personnel that I shared uh earlier now there was a question about the the payroll specialists in accounts payable many years ago there was a discussion on doing a shared finance office so when there was a shared finance office there was a shared finance officer for the town now the school has a business man and the town has a finance director but what happened when they did this is that at the time the Board of Ed had their own payroll uh person and their own accounts specialist person the town took over those positions within their budget so it was taken out of the board of ENT budget let's say 10 years ago and put into the town budget there have been many changes in the past four or five years with u accounts payable and and payroll literally those people those individuals they strictly do Board of Education business they don't do anything for the town they they the the payroll person handles payroll the account payable handles Board of B uh bills so what's been discussed for the past year is the superintendent of schools or the business manager does not have any responsibility over and oversight thank you oversight over those individuals the town the CAO had oversight over the school district payroll so was discussed with the the first selectman the CEO myself and the Board of Education chair is to move those individuals back into the Board of Education uh budget they're in our office right now that they work in our our office they're downstairs um so it it just makes sense that they F uh fall under the oversight of our school business manager so if you look down below we added in the payroll specialist and the accounts payable at.

2120 it brings our budget to a 6.45 but the town it's no new money to the town does everybody understand that I want to make sure I'm presenting that clearly it's no new money to the town it's just moving it to our budget out of Peter's pocket does everybody understand that okay so hopefully I address Mrs uh kogan's um question there because it was a question that I knew that we had to go over and there's been uh some talk and I think this is the first public time that we we've said it because it really is just happened in the past week week increase to their salaries so like from so like let's say they were 65 and 63 on the town last year is it higher now so is there an impact so so right now Anna has the numbers as what they would be for next year I believe that's what she's there come um what I can tell you is payroll specialist for school districts firsts Town payroll Specialists and other boards B actually make more more funds than what the the payroll specialist is is currently making okay so should we expect a larger increase no this is oh for next year's but I don't I don't think so I don't anticipate that we'll have to see how that all plays out I don't want to say would it do 3% four it all depends it's non union positions so you have to see what your pool is like and different things like that thank you and then the next slide here these are some of the questions that you asked as boards and the first one was can you please review the role and responsibilities of the three proposed campus supervisors how are these responsibilities currently handled the campus supervisor position is already established as a position at K middle school and K High School it is proposed that this position be added to both Cher primary school and Canon inter meded School the campus supervisor provides Safety and Security support by Greening visitors monitoring hallways and shared spaces and working collaboratively with school leadership as well as the Director of security the pro proposed position of after school campus supervisors at Camp middle school and high school will provide safety and supervision after school and in the evening for the first paragraph we don't have anyone that really does monitor the hallways and watch our parking lots at our schools right now these positions would allow to do that and then the same thing for here at night as you were walking in you noticed for those of you that got here earlier there there was at least 50 kids walking out of of the school and we have our basketball team in they're practicing there's no supervision going on after school within our buildings and I'll just leave it at that I'll answer any questions that people have me later question how much funding do we expect to receive from the federal government next year through various grants do we have any indication whether These funds will actually materialize intergo uh intergovernmental revenue and Grant Revenue are listed in detail on page 34 through 36 in the budget we outlined every single Grant uh that we received in in this budget and the explanation of each one of those grants so if there's any specific questions we'd be more than happy to answer them at this time we have no substance reason to believe that these grants will not materialize that's fluent things may happen things may not happen so we're really going to have to keep a close eye on on uh state grants and federal grants what percentage do you use to calculate special ed uh excess cost for next year I I did speak to the Board of Education chair and the chair of the board of Finance we're going to use EX cost of 72% because it's supposed to be funded at 100% we were told we were going to get 88% we did 72% this year they brought us down to 6 um 2% and now we're hearing it I don't know if they voted yet they didn't they did now it's sitting in the governor it's sitting in the governor so if the governor doesn't veto it's now going to go up from 62% up to actually 75.8% so actually feel pretty comfortable with the the the 72% um for next year because also there's $10 million next year in the general funding 4 million in bond that helps districts that create special education programming to keep kids in District we have two of them right now with Thrive and learning lab and we're going to have a third one so we will definitely apply for those grants next year and we're hoping that will uh off offset some of our special education uh expenses when you propose eliminating positions for next year did you calculate reductions and benefits cost yes we did uh when proposing the elimination of positions reduction and benefits were taken into consideration when do we expect the final Insurance numbers within the next month um Mr J I I hate to put you on the spot but you've been involved in this and you may be able to address Mrs pin's question better than I can and I'll let Anna jump in uh with what happened with the the health insurance sure it's it's uh we have a self-insured plan and so that means we have a component that we self-insure and so we need to keep x amount of money in that in that fund to pay claims over that there's an insurance policy that takes care of anything over that um and somewhere along the line um the funding of the claims account did not happen and um so we are we are um you're supposed to keep about two months of premium in there so there should be about a million5 in the uh in the claims fund there's only about 140,000 in the claims fund so on top of rates going up meaning the amount the cost of the insurance and the cost of the administration we now have to make sure we have adequate funding in our self Insurance uh in our claims fund and to do that it's going to require 20% uh increase this year so that's that's why and that's townwide it's not Board of Education it's not just the town it's combined the board of the board of um um selectman is also putting in 20% in your budget uh how that happened we we're investigating who's liable for it we're check we're investigating uh but the fact of the matter is we don't have enough money in that claims account so uh we need to replenish those dollars that's simple as that thank you Mr [Music] Daniels question six open Choice numbers final uh the open Choice memo that we presented on January 14th illustrates the available seats the district is proposing the open Choice Lottery process begins on December 5th and closes uh February 7th open seats are required to be submitted by February 28 so Mr Bishop actually just sent ours in today placement determination is made later in the spring and is based on the Declaration of open seats uh We've not yet yielded any new students participating in open Choice placement may continue through September 25 so we may see that we um all our spots were filled and then we may look at our enrollment in September and say we have some more spots available and we could go back to the open Choice office and say we have spots available question eight what new educational programs are being developed for next year's curriculum at Char Primary School K Intermediate School K Middle School can high school right now from a standpoint of funds the only thing that we are implementing with new money is the newly adopted Ela program at sherbrook Benchmark for 11,000 that's not the total cost if you remember receiving grants for that um but there's no new uh funds being um in this budget for Kon Intermediate School Kon Middle School Kon High School there's new textbooks for kanton high school that we've spoken about um but from a any new initiatives we couldn't think of anything that is a new initiative of course there'll be analysis and revision of curriculum but that's all embedded within our budget already and I just want to remind the the board of the budget process timeline that next uh Tuesday you're going to need to vote on um a budget and if we look at the budget number right now uh as what we have as the administration it is a 645 604 without yeah 60 645 04 that is with the the kindergarten teacher that was Anna she knows good weal is 6.45 so the the number that you would have to approve is a 6.45 if we're looking at what we have here and then what I and then what I would like to do really quickly um is uh Mrs Robbins if you could um I'm just looking through the questions that were asked in public comment uh Point well taken on the the rate of inflation uh looking at it from a regional standpoint it was just something that Mr Bishop explained to the board um as we're looking at it from uh United States inflation because that was a question that we were asked as public I believe we address the new person address Staffing um and benefits District safety um I I think I went over that the reason that it may be doubled is because there are three new um positions two of them one's at CIS one's at Cherrybrook the board of board of select men positions the health benefits uh Mrs Robins would you be able to explain the why fuel is going up so much so fuel um electricity is what's driving that number and that number is a utilities number our electricity costs are off the charts the fuel actually has decreased slightly so that is um impacting that number in a positive way but electricity okay thank you and what about the technology infrastructure with the what the HVAC is in technology infrastructure can you explain that sure all our HVAC systems are automated they are um so our technology infrastructure supports all of these systems throughout the district thank you Mr Daniel I believe that was uh if not all the questions pretty close to the questions that were asked in public and and I'll open it up to the board that the administration is here to answer any questions that you may have or anybody in the public since it's a workshop so I'll start with the Board of Education and I'll open it up to the public and then I'll I'll audience here and then anyone online that may have uh an additional question so board members um any questions here the superintendent might be able to add further Clarity to I just had a clarifying question for What on this C had asked so it does say that the maintenance vehicle vehic vehicle is going from uh oh no it is a reduction okay so I think the confusion is the three columns so in 24 we were 38 this year it's 83 and now we're down to 74 so that increas is really just on utilities which is the electricity B correct okay um and then my second question is for the classroom teacher that was a reduction on uh February 11th that's now being back added back in because we have 105 students um was that like is that exactly the same number so the 57 and 57 number so if you look at the the the slides in the slides where it has the reductions yeah um the reductions on page 16 16 you can see classroom teacher 57385 and we added it okay so did that reduction is that their total salary plus benefits the the benefit would be in another category okay okay so then and do you want to explain how that sure sure um there is a give and take on benefits um for one reduction we would not take the benefits out because it's fluid people come and go on benefits it would not be responsible to reduce that number for just one person but if we had several we would then take an average and reduce those appropriately okay so that's going to lead to another question then so and I don't know if this is the right place to ask that but since we are self-insured if we have people that are on our plan that are then not going to be on our plan anymore the insurance carrier that we have would be very would want to know that so are we not when you're saying that we're not removing people from the benefits if we're removing one person at what point do we trigger to actually remove someone from our benefits for job during open enrollment we will do a a a headcount okay okay and when you take reduce one position during a budget process uh not everybody again not everybody takes the benefits so we do not reduce right now if I knew exactly who it was and if they had benefits or not I would do that if we had a retiree if we had somebody retiring if there was some specific information I would do that but even given the state of our self-insurance fund we're very conservative at this point I understand that and and that makes sense okay um what is our um percentage that we have who do elect the benefits do you know that and do you have that I don't have it off the top of my head I don't have the percentage off the top of my head we'll have that Tuesday another work Tuesday I have one more question and I think the special education par educator that was a reduction we aren't adding that person back in and is that because of need or like we no longer feel we need that person or is that an actual that's a cut reduction that's a reduction and we're going to have to figure it out okay we're going to have to figure it out okay thank you just surprising um so I I I willon answer uh Mrs cen's question on Connecticut inflation so Connecticut inflation in our graph in 2022 we have it at 6.5% for the United States in C in uh Connecticut was 7.1% in 2023 we have it at 3.4 and in connetic it was 3.4 and in 2024 it's 3.4 so it's it's basically mirroring the national average maybe a little bit higher in some cases so that's uh that's the answer to the inflation any other questions from the Board of Education sure um the kindergarten projection uh 105 did you say that that did include open Choice seats or did not it does not so right now the 105 we were thinking it still may happen um we were thinking that we would open up two to three seats for kindergarten and when it came to [Applause] 105 we're going to have to test the waters a little bit especially as as Jordan said are we counting the 15 kids that may come may not come so let's say kids don't come then we'll be able to go back to those choice and say we have three open but that at at six sections with 105 we're teetering a little bit with we don't want to go with 18 19 20 kindergarteners in the class so we got to be careful so that that goes to some questions that people have asked do we do we accept open Choice students if we don't have room here's a perfect example that we may not be able to accept open Choice students say kindergarten okay but we're definitely so we're definitely more looking at not 105 but more like8 you could be looking at more we haven't made the sum that's there could be more because people m in the could yes could be more Cates but if it was 105 let's say the number was 105 Mr Bishop said can we add in three Harford I I probably would not oh really 105 yeah because that's about 17.5 um children in a class and that's just an average so could be one that has 18 one that like 16 so we right on that line for kindergart what month do we typically have like I know people can invol mid year but at what month do we typically say okay this feels like a solid number this feels like a solid number so when I was coming to in December remember last year I just gave the the board the ndaq number and I gave it as six sections and when I gave back the kindergarten teacher as a possible cut so of the question was well we knew that we weren't going to have that so that's not really a cut so what we did in December was gave you the actual numbers but every line that I I follow that up with will keep the board up to date in that we will um if we need to ask for another kindergarten section we'll call special meeting we'll ask well it just happened to be that we had kindergarten registration last week and I commend Mr hry and uh his secretar of staff that they were calling people they were calling people and saying okay what are you going to do here and that's when people and then the night of kindergarten orientation is the other night right had have three or four that registered that night so any other question I just don't know if Mr Sher has a question I'm get I'm G stay with this grp first thank you so my question is about question number two that um asks about um how much funding do we expect to receive from the federal government next year and I'm I'm just wondering you know there's been so much talk about losing Federal funding for participating in Dei initiatives and I wonder if there's any real indication that that could happen yeah so what we've been us CH at any time um what we've been told by our legal counsel and our attorney is that we are aware of this guidance that was issued by the office of civil rights the United States Department of Education on February 14th uh we note that the change in the direction of the Department of Education will monitor further the guidance from the the department uh we note that the guidance emphasizes the legal prohibition against discrimination against students or employees on the basis of race uh and that the C public schools are aware of this well established legal principle and that K Public Schools do not engage in any practices that violate the prohibition against discrimination on the basis of race that that we will remain uh committed to assur uring that all the students have an equal opportunity to learn as a right under the Connecticut Constitution at the Connecticut Supreme Court and we'll just continue to monitor uh what comes out of the um United States Department of Education and we are at this time reviewing all our policies and our attorneys are reviewing our policies and we're also in the process of um going to be reviewing curriculum and different things like that and there's been no set timeline on the the curriculum and the instruction material so we're going to have to uh pay attention closely but relative to the um executive order that was just um sent down on uh February 14th our our attorneys given us that advice Mr Daniel and because of that I mean even without the letter we do this normally I mean so it's it's a normal um standard operating procedure and and we're reminded that Federal funding can't be terminated without a multi-step legal process that they have to go through so I feel very confident that you know we're not in any danger of losing the federal funds thank you yep any other questions from uh people here so let's go online and we'll start with Mrs Sullivan any questions Kim um no the questions I had have been answered so thank you thank you very much we'll go to Mrs Jordan Felicia any questions I don't have any additional questions Cindy thank you for that question because my question was in line with that and I appreciate the clarification on that thank you now Mr sh Joe Joe can you hear us can get him on the phone you hear us he says no questions he says no questions no questions it just call okay I wish I knew sign but maybe I just okay um all right so everybody's question here we're good here so I'll go to the audience anybody have any questions about what you heard tonight we're fortunate to have the chair of the board of Finance here I'll start Brian I don't know if you need anything clarified or as the chair of the board of Finance no no I appreciate you being here though thank you um I do have a couple comments Brian Miller n Road um you know thank you to the board thank you to the superintendent for working through this budget process it's been you know clearly a difficult one particularly with the health insurance situation had to make some difficult cuts um in order to keep the overall increase down um my son's basetball player I was bued to see that the get Middle School basketball team proposal was cut but I understand why um I'm happy to see the campus supervisor roles um being proposed again I you know as my son has been guilty of running the hallways after school when he's supposed to be watching basketball game or something like that I entirely understand the reason they need to be here um I do not want to see the campus supervisor roles be leveraged to justify an SRO situation um nor do I believe that any funds coming from the Canabis tax in town will be able to support anything like an SRO um you it's unfortunate the again the sales Statewide and Nationwide are not what they expect them to be but that sales techniques they always over promise on the deliver um so I don't expect any serious Revenue to come out of that one store in town and sorry one more thing um yeah you know again another bummer that got cut was a human resource specialist I think that's something that you know not only the town does the town side need a HR rep but School needs one too I think that's important again I understand why it's been cut out of the budget this year um as far as the I congratulate the um the close attention the board and superintendent are paying to the federal policy influences on our town and our budget um I I agree with the approach checking with the lawyers paying close attention and I do urge a continued awareness of what's going on at the federal level I do you know I also you know as this came up in the board of Finance meeting there's a lot of Scare Tactics my opinion coming down from the you know the new new Administration and I don't think there's any reason for preemptive action uh based on some of those things that are coming out there as suggested there's a court system in place that things have to go through the court system before we should react to anything that's happening at that level that's all you thank you Brian great comments ladies any comments [Music] question okay online any questions online any further clarifications or Lisa has her hand raised go ahead Lisa you're on Lisa think you're Lisa you can go ahead are we having audio trouble noine she's able to speak maybe her hand is still from the last time oh okay Aubrey has a question all right I'll allow Aubrey to talk and we'll see if L is able to Sure Aubrey go ahead you're on hi it's Aubrey blle Bart Drive um thanks for your meeting and I apologize if you address this I am at a soccer practice right now and it's really loud so I may have Miss heard but I thought I heard um Dr grman mentioned that the potential to add a kindergarten section and teacher and I was wondering if if that's going to happen are there also going to be additional support staff added because typically the kindergartens have one or two eras if you could yeah so so great question Aubrey uh the the kindergarten teacher were it's I cut a classroom teacher from my proposed budget in February 11th but with new kindergarten numbers just as of today we have to add the section back and we'll have to work within the existing uh pair of professionals that we have at Cherrybrook Primary School to uh work within those uh classrooms we're going to have to utilize existing have to do that okay my other question was that I think I heard you say as well that there are some Personnel that are covered by money and I if we can get of those I don't the material it is like that she said you're breaking up a little bit Aubrey can you try that one again yeah my question was um I believe I heard Dr Grossman say there are some Personnel whose salaries are covered by grant money and if it would be possible for us to um see that or it's already laid out in the materials and is that in our budget book already and then also in the open Choice Grant um the Personnel in the open Choice Grant is listed um we also note in the Personnel summary which Personnel I think it's on page 17 you can see which the numbers of people covered in the grants um in each of the categories you'll see if it's a state Grant or a Federal grant um in this book we don't have dollars associated with that these numbers but we certainly have them available Aubrey anything else that's it from me for now thank you Lisa you have your hand up again um we couldn't hear you before we're going to open up the mic for you again um can you just give me a thumbs up if you can hear me now yeah we can all right thank you yep I just I really appreciate um the reference to page 17 showing the P graph of the Staffing salary and benefits but for clarity um what I was asking to to see was a historical line graph Associated to enrollment so what has been the Staffing um for administration certified teachers and correlated to enrollment so that was just what I was asking for before and then my second question and I really appreciate the opportunity to get clarification on this was regarding the insurance self-funded payout amount that you have to raise um a million dollars for um and is it low because you know it the benefit was needed by staff and it was paid out and now we just need to reestablish the fund or is it low because it it was just never supplied to begin with and and what has it historically been set at for the past you know five years what what has that number always been and that's it I really do appreciate um this opportunity to talk to you thank you yeah so so um the Self Insurance Fund was not funded that that's where the uh the swing and the Miss is that um we we paid the uh the increase in the premium and the administration charge but somewhere along the line we were not advised or we did not realize the fund had depleted so that's that's what we're continuing to investigate how that happened so that that's the issue there and uh with with respect to a 5-year analysis the standard is always about 2 months worth of Premium is what's needed in a claims account now that can be fluctu it can fluctuate and you can adjust that that's the suggested amount uh there's sometimes I remember when I was a selectman we decided to maybe do a month and a half and then when things started to get hot we needed to do a little bit more but the standard is 2 months of Premium which in this case uh you know is about a million5 is what they recommend which is about the right amount based on the claims the claims history that we see and Anna did I miss speake on any of that nope that was just right okay great so so I think I understand it better that it was basically just depleted and never replenished that's what happened okay I appreciate that thank you and Dr brosman I think you said the data it's hard to get the data yeah I least say I I said this and I I completely understand your your question as a superintendent that's been here now for a year and a half um I was asked to question last year and I I just don't feel that comfortable with the the the Staffing and how all the Staffing data was kept and the roles and the responsibilities um because it was never asked um to put it out there um so I I I think that's something that we just need to to to start new um what I can't tell you from a a broad sense from the administration standpoint uh I know no new administrators have uh really been added titles have been changed um but I I I I need to be very transparent I I don't feel really comfortable uh putting six years of of data out when um the records that I was looking at last year was not sufficient enough for me to really feel with what's out there I I I appreciate that thank you okay um any further questions from the board you had a couple minutes to kind of catch your breath any other questions so um we have a meeting on Tuesday um and the goal would be whatever budget the the board wants to put forward to the board of Finance because after Tuesday it it's not the administration's budget anymore it's the board of education's budget and um we need some time because it needs to get to the board of Finance by a certain date and we need to put new books together for the board of finance and so my question to you is is there anything else that you would need for Tuesday that would help you the goal on Tuesday will be that we have another PowerPoint the first five six slides will be the exact same so anybody that is new coming out will'll review everything that we've done because you've been working on this since October basically and talking about the the budget so for for you it's you get it and I apologize for not I apologize for keep repeating myself but I think it's important for the public to hear each time um and then Barbara mle is going to be here on Tuesday just to talk about 10 minutes about the new program that we're going to bring in so you could see that what we're trying to do is save money across and she'll be able to share that this program is going to save significant dollar over a fiveyear trend just like the the Thrive program but is there anything else there was a couple questions that I know Claudia received that we'll be able to embed in there but is there anything else that you would help you for next Tuesday so you said the budget was 6.45% and that speak partially because of the 20% of uh Insurance health insurance deficit what if that wasn't the case and and what would we be if our our insurance was at the 7% original number right when we were at 5.88 we would have been very very close to 4% maybe just a hair over so um anything else that's okay so uh here's where we are we have a 6.45% budget um that we're looking at 6.04 is really um you know the 645 includes a couple of the Town employees coming over to our side um we know that our fixed costs are what they are we heard about this health insurance that's driving this if you remember I think it was last year when the superintendent provided um a forecast showed about 5 years he thought this year we'd be in a 3.5 3.6 uh range and without the insurance and you heard it from the business manager you know we be right in that four so he was very close in his in his uh projection so um you know typically at this this particular time uh boards Boards of Education will take a look at the budget and they'll tell the superintendent to start cutting here start cutting there um but at this particular point we know that the superintendent already made 800,000 Plus in Cuts I commend him on that we know that this is basically a flat budget with the exception of a couple SRO that we we're bringing SRO campus sorry don't want to say s campus supervisors people outside that are going to skew me um campus super supervisors we know that those are really the only thing along with the social worker but that is a money maker because we're keeping kids in class this is a flat budget there's with what I think as a board of education we see through the continuous Improvement plans we see the the progress that our uh our um principles are making our schools are making and and my fear is always that we can't feed the fire but that's that's the financial situation that the town in right now so I'm I'm advocating that we don't make any cuts at this particular point that we wait to hear I'm sure we're going to get guidance from the board of Finance on where we need to go with this and then we can roll up our sleeves and figure out about uh is is it uh you know are we going to make a cut are we going the way it is they have some decisions to make because they have Capital Improvement considering all this so I think um it would be my recommendation as we go forward that we let this uh stand and get further direction from the board of Finance as we go forward so on Tuesday if you have any more questions we can have those answered uh and then um I'll be presenting to the board of Finance on the um I think it's 19 it is the 19 19 uh and then I'll be looking for the direction from them and then we'll be coming back to see what we have to do okay any questions for me anybody in this room have any questions anybody online have any further questions Kim Joe or Felicia I see no no Kim no Felicia no no thank you I'm good thank you okay with that I think I'm going to close this meeting um and um everybody agrees that we're done with with our work here tonight then um I'm adjourning the me the meeting at uh 737 well actually 7:34 so the meeting Jour at 7:34 see you Tuesday

pres um Mr Mr is uh [Music] mson here I have a motion to ad I'll make the motion all those in favor say I to of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all first informational item is the issuance of the 2025 26 certified contracts Mr President members of the board um statute 15- 5366 and 15- 5381 now state that probationary and continuing teacher contracts for the ensuing school year shall be offered on or after March 15th of each year 2025 20126 certified teacher contracts are being recommended to be issued to the following teachers and we got this update from Arizona School Board Association but we also uh print it out uh I believe you have if not we can share it with you um the uh AR it's right there it's right there summarizing it for you but those are the names we have uh no board action necessary this is a study session item only but we have to wait at least to March 15th any questions or on is this is this just teachers that are due for a contract like their contract is renewing I'll certifi all all of our certified after that all the teachers okay okay that's any further comment question move on the next item approval of the finance CL pleas from okay Mr President members of the board um the administration had has posted internally for the position of finance cler two applicants applied in were interview the administration is recommending em Vasquez for finance for position no board action necessary this is an informational item only so just to share with you uh we had it posted for one week on February 14th through the 21st internal posting posted at five locations throughout campus Teachers Lounge school office district office special office cafeteria and Miss email to all staff um February 26 we had interviews with the committee it was uh myself and both of our finance analysts M Ginger player and on Friday February 23d Miss Vasquez she'll start in a few weeks so she still be special education office manager but she's going to be coming back and forth just working primarily with Miss Wy she getting familiar with Time Clock Plus payroll and just some other uh other issues accounts payable with Mr so we really wanted to keep this internal to really uh follow a recommended practice from H Miss education Administration when you keep an internal you promote from within you establish credibility you really also provide motivation encourages staff to always think hey what else might come up that I can apply for that I get into and so it really just also uh it's critical in maintaining retention employing retention so uh Miss vus did very well and um that's where we are you say she staying in the position she right right now cuz she's been to you what we're going to have to do is we're going to have to open that up but we we can't have her to leave there right now and so she's going to just be we're just going to be figuring that out are we going to do that position internally too yes okay just concerned yeah so we're gonna go from probably from uh this meeting to the next meeting April April 7th and 9th so the next meeting the target dat is to have that special office manager position so why is that about 24,000 a year um I would have to double check with terer Mr well it says 30 hours 12 months at $17 an hour so just the gas saying about about 24,000 a year um I'd have to check the yeah I know it's an estimate but they're going to try and figure out is this a position or no this position is going to be um most slly in time disposition is going to replace one of our finance anals that we have right now okay so we want to just we don't want to wait to till that person most likely on then try and find some find some before so they can they properly and so that we have that person already ready to step right in when that position opens up and that point you go up from0 well right now it's for 30 when position she might move no that position what he's saying is that position in general is 30 hours that's a yeah that that was this was done in collaboration with Tyler as far as for for budgetary purposes but also to make sure that um we're planning and also we're being fiscally responsible to okay any other questions or comments on that we'll go on to next item which is the approval of volunteer coach softball coach Jake Tucker Mr President members of the board Jake Tucker has been interviewed for a position of the volunteer softball coach Mr tuckle will not start his first until approved IP fingerprint card and received recommend the appointment of jakee Tucker as a volunteer softball coach on the receip of an IDP fingerprint card questions tells me that that's the head coaches go to the next item which is Administrative salary schedule um Mr President members of the board off Unified School District does not have a salary schedule for administration and it is best practice to adopt and improve a salary schedule for all employee groups including Administration attached to the proposed administrative salary schedule no board no board action necessary this is an informational item only um Mr Mo can talk more in detail to this on on Wednesday when he's here he will be here but just a little background U other districts have admin salary schedules on UniFi School District to the high school district so this is a good practice to have so we'll have a administrative salary schedule we have the classified salary schedule that we revised last year and also the certified salary schedule so this is a this is a positive that we're getting more consistent and having best practices in all different areas any question or comment on that no next item then is approval of disposal of table pitching machine and F Mr President members of the board a broken table and broken pitching machine are being recommended for disposal because each item has a fixed asset tag board approved disposal necessary pictures of the items are attached also being recommended for disposal or broken student tables and chairs word actually necessary so can you put that up on the yeah yeah so this is this is very just being proactive uh all those chairs and desks are broken I believe so I was told by Daniel and then I verified with and they're either old in CR or they're missing legs or they're they don't have feet or some of these are what 30 40 50 60 years so so so you know this is being proactive versus whereas as it accumulated you remember in the North End Zone as we get it we can clear it out this is what also our finance consultant Tyler Mo has recommended to just to tag it you guys approve it and we just move it out and last year through Essa right through Esser we got um the desk uh chair combo for a lot of the high school and middle school classes so the they can slide in to the side and the desk and the basket on the bottom we got a couple dozen of those to replace these so we're not leaving anybody sitting on the floor we have a lot of replacements my my thing the reason I asked about the chairs like was that picture in particular all those chairs are stacked are they're all bad though like we can't donate some of those to like the thrift St or something we can't donate okay okay Ty's been very he's reminded us we have to really follow okay fed inventory requirements real careful these items that if we V to dispose will be like the stuff be in the football field will be done as an auction I so that way it are us reuse situations I know that we're not allowed to do that with we use a website called public and and it'll say like a lot of 75 and we'll package them up and they have to come get them and it's an online option and it's probably the best way to get rid of stuff like this and then if they don't sell or then we can recycle them or we can dispose of them another way or we can't just say hey this all goes to Jim Smith or this all goes to whoever yeah we have to at least make an effort B website I just bought something in that website day Public Surplus I never had public before any further discussion or questions on that we item up first reading of governing board policy advisory 89 88 Mr President members of the board of asba policy Services commitment of service to our subscribers includes listening to your feedback and improving our services to best support you thus as we have shared at County meetings via our PLL on policy newsletter and at our annual conference we are in the process of conducting a full review of our model manual and are rolling it out in sections for manageability this manual update is a team effort of policy and legal experts as well as district and educational leaders for eding each document part to send each section to you section A documents along with the revisions of policies to policies gbk and ji are provided below policy documents ACA ACAA AC a a r gbk and j i i include the title n updates from 20 USC 1681 education LS 19729 the updated documents are available in policy brid for adoption as with any other policy advisory so what I'm going to do is there there's I'm not going to read Rea like like I've done in the past I'm just going to ask Angelina you have in front of you you can either look in your on your attachment or follow on the screen I'm just going to go to the page number and just point out where you know where where you see any underlined words or group of words those are the changes so I'll start on page um I'll start on on Pol advisory 809 um AC District Mission and belief statement page five where you can see at the top you have under the underlined words there in the middle and also at the end you have a lot though has been crossed out just because these the revision is being done go on page six you see just some highlights there at the top The District staff who have and who are everything else pretty much has been crossed out and on page seven most of it has been crossed out there you see C D and that is all new all those underlined parts so I'll just kind of give you a little bit of time to look at that let me know when the ra go to the next okay advisory 810 you go to page nine um AA School District legal status uh that you see the underline part um The District's legal boundaries can be found in the transcript that the county school superintendent enally files with the Board of Supervisors and county assessor Miss valuel has that in case you want to see it but that's that's pretty much the revision to this policy go to advisory 811 we go to page 12 ABA Community involvement in education you see everything that's been taken out the underline part is the new part let me know when you're ready ad advisory 812 you go to page 14 abaa parental involvement you can see mostly everything else has been taken taken out the district supports the active involvement of parents and Guardians as partners and their students's educational activities that's the only that's the new part go to advisor [Music] 813 page 16 AC non-discrimination equal opportunity there's just that one part that's underlined has been added and go to page 17 the regulation ACR non-discrimination equal opportunity just um pretty much who has has been added a few words taken out complaint process procedure is taken out go to page [Music] 18 everything else is the same page 19 AC exhibit non-discrimination equal opportunity there's the exhibit pretty much everything is the same so now I'll go to advisory 8:14 page 21 go to page 22 ACA section sexual harassment you see what's taken out there and title on line of the education Amendments of 1972 everything else is just pretty much the same if you go to page 23 for your attention where it says education Amendments of 1972 TI 9 as amended in 2024 TI 9 that part's taken out so this we're back to the 2020 um right so that's page 2 three if you go to page 24 the regulation ACR sexual harassment there you see procedures taken out it's process the word complaint process everything else is is pretty much still there the same page 25 insane exhibit AC sexual harassment Complaint Form 26 and 27 it's the same um 8:15 this part is the probably the the most inth part from 29 to 40 so advisor 815 ACA title mind sex discrimination see on page 29 um this one go ahead their correction grammatically is wrong because it's now an incomplete sentence just say the district do not discriminate based on and and hears too that yeah yeah okay okay you forgot the N actually it just say B on and then it goes to there yeah ad to all okay including is also new everything else is uh letter D that those two words are taken out words so so to is no long is only sexual harassment now um well it says it's yeah it's title n sex discrimination okay no I'm only asking because they took out the hosal environment right so they have like a letter B an objectively offensive letter D is taken out complainant you saw what's taken out and it says complainant mean means and it has the definition then a respondent means and it has a definition so if a student if a student tries to report Title 9 and it is hostile but and it's it no longer has that in there how do you do that the best thing that we would do is we would just call I'm just I'm just curious because now because it was both so now so now what is the process in that situation Department and ask for guidance okay yeah okay and they they have lawyers specifically that focus on title and they can provide guidance and help us make sure we're doing everything correct okay page 30 you just have pretty much um go to the bottom confidentiality formal is is new complaining and any anything else is pretty much the same um go to page 31 you see they take out as amended in 2024 Title 9 also a report or formal complaint that's on the last paragraph under retaliation prohibited all right now this part is the is the lengthiest part of of what's been added or taking up from page 32 to page 41 okay so um AC a regulation title N9 sex discrimination you have a response to sex discrimination taken out complaint process and you see on the paragraphs that that follow all the underlying parts that have been added and once the was taken out um a a actual knowledge means notice of sexual harassment of sexual harassment to a District's timeline coordinator attorney employee you have section B sex discrimination taking out sexual harassment you have letter C all that underlined part ability page 33 you saw title n what's been taken out and you go to the next paragraph you see all the underlined Parts a formal where no formal complaint has been filed sexual harassment not discrimination not sex discrimination um supportive measures provided shall remain confidential if possible and we have all the underline part even if no formal complaint has been filed the teline coordinator shall properly a b c and d that's all that's all new give you a minute to look through that everyone ready to go up 34 page 34 removal of a responded key point you have again the term that's consisted D sex discrimination is taken out and the term is sexual harassment response to the notification of cond you see all that part has been taken out all the way to the bottom a b c d e and F removed g&h removed following paragraph removed everything removed up until response to a formal complaint all that paragraph all that is new formal complaint me a document filed by a complant or signed by coordinator then you see the rest right there that's all that's all rised page 36 page 36 all the first paragraph first of all all that part all the way the whole page all that is name okay first paragraph letter a number one 2 3 4 five b c DF okay any questions on any on that page pretty much the whole pages Stand Out page 37 once again the whole top part is new p7 page 38 everything's pretty much know stage in formal resolution process any time part to reaching a determination regarding responsibility during a formal complaint process the district May facilitate an informal resolution process such as mediation so that's stress that there mediation that does not invol full investigation and judication provided if the district and it goes into detail you know how how you can use why you can use mediation if you follow rest of the what stated there the rights of the parties are written notice disclos just all this is like I said all this is is is new um a B and C dismissal of complaint there's the description the district May dismiss a formal complaint or any allegations there in at any time and then it shows you um what must take place all this entire page everything is any questions or comments on that that page all those all those revisions page 39 first paragraph of the top is new upon dismiss of a formal complaint or any allegation during the district sh promptly send notice of the dismissal the reasons for the dismissal simultaneously to the par and it says there the decision maker and our a decision maker and investigator is Miss Williams Mr Casey is our appeals officer the decision maker the duties come me know underline the decision you took the decision and Miss Queeny is our coordinator right Miss Queeny is no longer our coordinator no longer who who is our coordinator now iness we guessing we have two other people taking care of it right now if she needs to she's also doing that as well we have and both of them that receive training some minor underl changes there 40 termination in appeal process um you go down a and C has key underling part there for or against complainant or respondents family the individual complained or respond that affect the outcome of the matter so once again you see some some underline Parts whether you see for or against complainants or respondents generally or an individual complainant or respondent you see the last paragraph once again let's consist with drop that's the first reading and so the second reading we just um go through the introductory part policy Services advisory that you all have on page uh page two and three and I believe that will be the second reading so um Can can I ask what is with the map the map that relates to one of the that is actually from I believe hold on sorry I like it but I didn't know what is that is School District legal status I told I suggested Angelina okay have this ready just in case it says here the district's legal boundaries can be found in the transcript that the county scho superintendent fil with the Board of Supervisors and county assessor so that's what on file okay in case you guys like to see okay other questions that's Enda [Music] can I just point something out at the the so at the Wednesday meeting which if I could pull up right now on the consent agenda there will be just because normally we don't have anything in the consent agenda except doctors and um uh the I'm doing another booster club donated uh the school board to the softball Raiders um they I know one of our board members isn't going to be happy about the color but the company um said red B really really fast and it being out in the sun all the time it would turn pink then it turn pink yeah so um we did a little compromise and then on um Friday actually they also um not that one but this they donate needed um uh speakers for people to announce uh at the softball and baseball so softball got one and Bas got one so they're in our shed and they belong to us but for statute we have all donations have to be board approved otherwise it revert to the original owner so everything that the uh the booster club gives us we have to officially approve and then it becomes ours where is this going to be installed huh where's it going to be installed the scoreboard M the best know that well the best thing I could think of is just right out there in the outfi okay like the baseball the baseball scoreboard is in right field be right there everybody can see it players teams people in the stands and the cars that's probably the best location so Ro natural I hope we do got we got to come back and do it and also added e so this will be here for this meeting and then it'll after that we'll we'll pull it out you okay good stuff good news great news second say I yourself now

for [Music] go welcome um we'll go ahead and call tonight's meeting to order today's date is Monday March 3rd 2025 as I call the meeting to order I just want to make sure to share with you all who may or may not have uh joined us before our vision mission and purpose statement as the governing board of baru Unified School District it is always important for us to continue to support and up uphold um these statements especially on behalf of our schools and our and the effort of all of our teachers and staff our vision statement is our students will be loved encouraged and prepared to Take On The World by embracing our him.com our mission statement is we create healthy inspiring motivating developing achieving graduates and our purpose statement is we create a nurturing learning environment for every child every day with an additional commitment to our himu hdu for those of you who may not know is he a them word meaning our way of life and it is as representatives of the community and uh all the members of the nation as well um it is always our honor and and and um especially our our passion to be able to include not not only the art the York but uh continue to to uphold it its importance amongst our schools um the bmach secretary for the roll call Mr sabala all those here I cley fance in syvia Hendricks in Adam Stevens Jessica Migel present that all right we do have a quorum we continue with this evening's agenda um and just to announce ladies and gentlemen I have asked uh wonderful students from our primary campus to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance this evening please welcome Mr Adam Capone and Sara aranella and stand and join us in the Pledge of [Music] Allegiance I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you guys so much I appreciate it all right we'll continue with this evening's agenda letter D is our routine business number one want us the approval of the March 3rd 2025 board meeting agenda board members I do have some changes for the agenda this evening with your permission um we will be moving first of all number five which is the foundation presentation to number three and all of the U we first we'll address that second um or second two items that I would like to actually pull for possible study sessions and or allowing us some more time to actually consider uh questions Andor consideration for the presentations uh which will be number six the bber Cav School District social and emotional learning presentation and number 14 which is the first reading of the Arizona School Board Association policies 809 818 again those items will be pulled just to be able to have um either a study session or some more discussion based on the items that were presented so we don't table those items we just pull them yeah number what was the first number well first of all we're moving number five to number three yeah I got that number six is being pulled and number okay is that it are there any other um amendments to the agenda if not is there a motion to approve with the amendments motion motion by Miss Kathleen Vance second by Miss Sylvia Hendricks all those in favor of the motion M M M Jess migu for thank you number two is our approval of the barbecue scho dist February 10th 2025 regular board meeting minutes without objection a motion to approve is there a second second second by Miss Kathleen Vance all those in favor of this motion Juan B moso Kathleen Vance m syvia hendri uh not loading Jessica Miguel four motion number three this evening is our call to the audience I did not receive any call the audience for the record we do not have no call to the audience this evening we'll continue with the agenda letter e is our information items number one is the Bara Ki Unified School District students of the month Mr [Applause] T president M members of the board members of the community thank you so much for being here today uh this is our favorite part this is we get to honor every single one one of our students and their families and at this point if he your first time getting the student of the the month you need to come forward Shake everybody's hand we're going to take a picture of you but for the picture your family needs to come with you because they're part of your success um having said that at this point please help me put your hands together to welcome our principal for the primary campus Miss Jennifer Enriquez good evening president buendia governing board members superintendent Diaz and community members our first student of the month is in prek I don't see her but if I miss her Daisy [Applause] tutu Daisy has shown great leadership in our classroom these past couple of weeks she is always willing to lend a helping hand when she notices her peers are struggling she is kind caring friendly and a joy to have in the class keep up the good work Daisy Daisy wants to be a dentist when she grows up uh for kindergarten I'm going to have Miss Pete come up to present her student with her student of the month hello I'm Miss Pete um for my student I selected Abel fan he's sitting right there uh Abel is a strong leader in our classroom he continues to be a strong role model for our class he's always wanting to provide a helping head he's super funny we just learned how to do hand turkeys earlier so he's a good jokester he's an amazing writer and has shown a great growth his kindness and love for his school reflects in the classroom I'm super excited to see the success Abel has in the future Abel wants to be a firefighter when he grows up [Applause] [Music] there you for first grade we have Lena Andrews I don't see her Lena is such a delight to have in the class she was nominated by Mrs spotted wolf she is a student who wastes no time she comes into class gets busy working on her assignments participates in class and follows instructions because of her outstanding work habits as a student she excels academically on top of being a great student Lena is also a great person she is friendly kind and always smiling she often volunteers to help out her classmates and her teacher as a result her classmates see Lena as a leader and someone they can count on Lena's hard work passion and learning and desire to do well is a great combination for Success Miss botted wolf has no doubt she will be very successful in the future when she grows up she also would like to be a firefighter our second grade student of the month is Jesse Montana Jesse has been a great student to have in class he is always coming to school ready to learn he actively participates in the classroom discussions and activities he is producing quality work on what they are learning he is very bright and motivated he is kind and helpful towards his classmates there he is one more round of applause Jesse is always looking to make others laugh Miss adson is glad to be able to see him continue to grow and become a successful learner when Jesse grows up he wants to be a soccer [Applause] player please come forward so we can take a picture with you and thumbs up congratulations for third grade the student was nominated by Mrs Gowan she is from the house of isab Bindy Penelope [Applause] Dolores Penelope is performing exceptionally well in her academics has good attendance and is always willing to lend a hand to anyone who needs help Penelope comes to class with a smile and is determined to do her best on all her assignments her writing has improved greatly and she continues to impress Miss G with the quality of work she completes this is why Penelope deserves to be the student of the month for third grade when she was asked what she wants to be when she grows up miss an say she would like to be a high school science teacher because science is her favorite [Applause] subject thumbs up Cong our final student of the month was nominated by Mrs Tana tongle from our Tinker lab Jet acrian Jet comes to class ready to learn he has good attendance and rarely misses a day of school jet is quiet but has started to open up during SFA reading class as well as specials class jet has shown Improvement in reading and speaking skills he is sounding Out words and he is becoming more confident in his learning jet does his homework and brings back the read and respond forms it has been wonderful to see his growth over the last two quarters of school keep up the good work Jet when jet was asked what do you want to be when you grow up jet said he would like to be a cop when he grows up he wants to train he wants to train others to be police officers and he wants to help people congratulations J [Music] please welcome Miss beay Lewis from the intermediate [Applause] campus good evening amilies I don't see our fourth grade student n is she here no well she was um nominated by Miss tuala for her consistency in her academic progress and positive behavior in the classroom and she always tries her best and never gives up and then our specials teacher good evening my name's Danny I'm the specials teacher I chose TJ Martinez I don't see her here but she always comes into my SFA class with discipline and respectfulness um I can always depend on her to complete tasks and to also guide her students and her groups it's really such a joy to have her in my class cuz I see her every day and then for fifth grade we have um from Mr Cody's class Haley [Applause] Lopez Haley was nominated because she is an amazing student who displays positive classroom behavior and great work ethics she is very knowledgeable of her culture and self-identity she also displays Positive Growth mindset that is driving her academic success she would like to make the world a better place by picking up trash around the community help Community relationships earn money for her family and help families in need thumbs upul [Applause] and our last student from sixth grade Aliana [Music] [Applause] Jose Aliana is from Mr haran's class she is being nominated for demonstrating exceptional leadership kindness and dedication to her studies she is she always has a positive attitude in and out of the classroom and puts great effort into all her assignments she is very hardworking respectful and willingness and her willingness to participate makes her a role model for her classmates and she would like to make the world a better place by making sure everyone is kind to each other helpful and sharing with each other [Applause] congratulations and thank you Miss on from high school let's give her our big hand [Applause] for hello president president buia board members superintendent Diaz families friends and students um okay so our seventh grade student of the month is Lonnie Harvey Lonnie's Guardian is O'Hara Ortega Lonnie is an athlete this year Lonnie played flag football for babok ke cougars Lonnie's favorite class is math because he loves the questions his favorite teacher is Missi because she is awesome and helps him get his work done after graduating from Baba High School Lonnie plans on going to college maybe at ASU um his current career goal is to become a video game designer one person that Lonnie greatly admires and would like to honor is his Guardian O'Hara Ortega Lonnie would like to thank her for her love and support keep up the good work Lonnie good job Lonnie [Applause] the eighth grade team names darl and Daryl student of the month for February darl and's Guardians are Esther and Berlin Castillo she is also an athlete playing volleyball and basketball for the babacu Lady Cougars daryn's favorite class this year is social studies with Mr Cutler because it is cool to find out things happened in history her favorite teacher is also Mr Cutler because he's funny you can ask him questions and he's a very good teacher after graduating from babok curi high school daryn is considering going to the University of Arizona she also plans on entering the workforce and finding a job her current career goal is to become a criminal psychologist darn would like to thank her family her friends and her teachers for all their support keep up the good work [Applause] darn Raam Roy is the ninth grade student of the month for February Raam is the son of Jessica Jose and reard Roy raam's favorite teacher this year is Miss jel cabaran because she's nice and very and a very cool teacher after completing his studies at Baba high school railan plans on going to college um he is considering all three universities in Arizona his current career goal is to become an artist or paleontologist um raan would like to thank his parents Jessica Jose and rard um his brother Gra and his L Uncle Zack and all the rest of the family members for all their love and support [Applause] congratulations okay um 10th grade Ezekiel Hendrick is the sophomore class student of the month Ezekiel is the son of Jessica and Arlon hendri Ezekiel is a student athlete running cross country and playing varsity basketball for the Baba kebri Warriors he serves on the student council of sophomore class treasur and participates in your book ezekiel's favorite teacher this year um is GE or favorite class this year is geometry with Dr Flores because geometry makes sense to him ezekiel's favorite teacher is Mr enus because he's Mike key after graduating from babok ke high school ezekiel's plans are not fixed he is considering going to college or going to work Ezekiel would like to thank and honor his parents for giving him all the opportunities and support over the years Ezekiel would like to do a shout out to his teammates to his teammate Gabriel Pablo let's go [Laughter] [Applause] Warriors K Garcia is the junior class student of the month for February KAS is a student athlete playing football and baseball for the Bob Bri Warriors kase's favorite class is digital communication with Miss Lopez because he enjoys working with the cameras K's favorite teacher this year is Miss Lopez because he likes her class and she's a fun teacher side note he helps make the videos and the little tabs that go through um after graduating from Baba High School k plans on either going to college or joining the military K's current career goals are open and he's looking forward to seeing what the world has to offer thank you [Applause] Cas okay ready for our 12th grade student of the month Taj me is a senior class student of the month for February Taj is the son of Mera Pablo and Joseph me he is a student athlete playing football and varsity basketball for the babok KE Warriors he also serves as the vice president of the yearbook Club taj's favorite class this year is too history with Mr enus because is very involved an interactive class where you get to go outside his favorite teacher is Miss Sora because she's nice and you can laugh with her after graduating from babok kebre high school Taj plans to go to college he's considering ASU or U OFA taj's current career goal is to become an architect Taj would like to honor his grandparents his parents and his siblings he would like to thank them all for being his motivation and Role Models we're proud of you Taj [Applause] congratulations we wild wild you have to put the forks up on one side Grandma Grandma's coming oh you have to do it one on each side the fort [Laughter] and never mind [Applause] congratulations okay um thank you that's it for the secondary campus next up we have Mr V NOA [Applause] good evening everybody um president B bendia uh board members BD board members superintendent Diaz and all the families that are here uh super special night celebrating all our students this is wonderful um student of the month for um uh Indian Oasis Middle High Accelerated School is yena ortis uh yena is a student Who's involved in the after school Mesa Club she also stays after school for the after school math tutoring club and she still makes time to look after her family members as well she is very dedicated she's kind and this month she's already completed 56 hours of activities for the month of February so we're very proud and honored to um bestow this award to yena Ortiz student of the month what it is oh family members please join us family member everybody all family to we allting do number one thank you [Applause] congratulations usually I do a little bit of a close out for student month however I don't want to release everybody yet because we are going to move right into our next item which is the bar un School District Huck award which is a pretty uh good experience um it recognizes anyone in the community students for achievement for their success especially if they're able to participate within our effort as a community raising our students raising our children so please um bear with us and we'll run through the himu award and then I'll do a short little uh send off for all of you amazing students of the month thank you superintendent good evening my name is R Diaz and I am the proud superintendent for b g fire school district and today um it is an honor and it is a pleasure at this point may I please can you please everyone help me welcome all of my lady Warriors and warriors in the house so they can come to the front before I I read my letter all my Warriors and Lady warriors please come to the [Applause] front come on gab come on everybody I saw you guys come on Juan come on kayin come on let's give it up for the Warriors everyone I need to hear it [Applause] members of the community it is an honor um today to have our representative Representatives all right but here's more come on let's all get in [Applause] here it is a true pleasure and an honor to have him here tonight um I'm going to read a quick letter that I uh that I wrote on behalf um of our not only our govering board but also myself um and in this is only the beginning um of the success and and all of the lessons that they teaching us um I want our words and Lady words to know that you're teaching us a lot more than what we're teaching you based on your commitment and efforts but this is what I want to say from the bottom of my heart as we continue to uphold the mission of babiri school district which is to create healthy inspiring motivating developing achieving graduate graduates it is my pleasure to bring to your attention the remarkable remarkable achievements of our Warriors basketball teams our warriors uh basketball teams have Amplified the essence of our mission by embracing basketball as a healthy extracurricular activity through through their dedication commitment and sportmanship they have not only excelled on the court but have also inspired future generation of students to represent uh bud with pride and Excellence their Journey Through the season serve as a Testament uh to their hard work and the and determination motivating and inspiring our entire Community along the way by bringing the community together and probably representing our school our community in Theon autum Nation they have demonstrated the true Spirit of the warrior Spirit on behalf of our students staff board and Community I would like to extend our sincere appreciation and recognition to our basketball Warriors your efforts and commitment throughout this season have not gone unnoticed I will also like to express our gra gratitude to the Warriors coaches administrative team and parents for the continuous support which has undoubtedly contributed to the success of our team once again congratulations to our Warriors basketball team for their outstanding achievements and thank you for everyone involved for the dedication and commitment as well sincerely your proud superintendent rendas let's give him a big than go Warriors my [Applause] this is a little also um I didn't get a chance to put it on my report but it's one of was nominated as AER of the year so let's give it up [Applause] his legacy um and his dynasty living on and the students that he has continue to touch and express and moving forward now we have to pay respect to the ring look at all [Applause] thank once again um lady Warriors and warriors I appreciate you guys for everything that you doing for our community I appreciate everything that you're doing to better yourself everything that you have learned through the guidance of your coaches is going to carry on if you apply everything else that you do in life I saw you you were sick and you were there I saw you get and you you stood up again and kept on going and when somebody else was falling you guys were cheering and I got to you guys your heart to that very last second and for that I thank you and appreciate you let's give him another [Applause] hand I think Aaron can you pull up the next [Music] um sorry we weren't done with the him that work y'all all right thank you so much all and and again um we'll close out the entire himu award section as we continue with another um awarde for a himu award um and I'll share because I wasn't able to print but um we're acknowledging our Mar Comm remarkable community service Byam Community College apprenticeship program um and this is a memo I wrote to the board and superintendent dear superintendent Diaz and members of the governing board is with great pride and gratitude that I acknowledge the outstanding contributions of the tlcc apprenticeship program during the Indian Oasis primary campus's love of reading month their dedication to fostering a love of literacy and education among our students exemplifies the values we hold dear in the barbecue UniFi School District the tocc apprenticeship program brought their Stu brought their students to read to our Young Learners creating an inspiring and engaging environment that celebrated the joy of reading on multiple occasions I had the privilege of w witnessing them in action onsite and personally thank the group for their presentations which were delivered with such enthusiasm and spirit that they no doubt left the lasting impression on both students and staff their efforts not only supported our love of reading initiative but also strengthened the bond between our school district and the broader community in recognition of their remarkable service I am moved to nominate their efforts for the hdu award which stands for healthy inspiring motivating developing achieving can you move down graduates graduates I know but there's more to the memo the tocc apprenticeship program embodies these principles through their commitment to nurturing healthy Minds inspiring L Young Learners motivating students to reach their full potential developing lifelong skills achieving educational goals and ultimately contributing to the success success of future graduates I urge the governing board and superintendent Diaz to join me in celebrating the tocc apprenticeship program for their exceptional community service and partnership their work is a sh shining example of our how collaboration and dedication can make a prop profound impact on the lives of our students and the future of our community are there any Representatives from TC Miss Ernestine please [Applause] Mr Bates can you go back to the item uh I do want to also make sure to acknowledge and thanks so much uh during our love of reading month this was just a listing short listing of individuals I'm sure there were many more but I definitely did want to try and Encompass the very fact that this is this is an important program it does give a sense of connectivity to the students they are so enthused if ever you have an opportunity please do take the time uh special shout out to miss Gabriela casades Kelly our Pima County record's office tocc president Derek Washington is that his name Steven Schoonmaker sorry uh tlcc Representatives Shannon Ramone and carlot Chavis Don AUM Fire Department M on aam Nation sholic District legislative representative Delisa Ramon again our tocc apprentices from electrical carpentry and plumbing um and their coordinator Miss Ernestine Segundo community members Michael Jose Sonia Moreno TD Angelica Salo as well as um our partner from CBP who did read on the 14th uh however again uh hasn't read since then so just to note and I wanted to especially acknowledge again uh as I close out the him award and students of the month it is is always a very special part of our agenda and I really really am grateful please do if you are able grab a piece of cake I think there's cake back there from our um our uh Food Service uh company otherwise it is always a pleasure thank you so much for being a partner with us in in uh achie setting the goal and assisting in your students achieving greatness thank you guys so much we really appreciate you have a good evening [Applause] president Mia yes sir um I did notice that one member of the audience did not get up to get recognized as part of the Warriors and the achievement and that was the ad the ad did not come forward so Mr ad please stand up athletic director thank you for all of your work and thank you for dedication and supporting us through all of the work come thank you so much okay we'll go ahead and continue with the agenda our new number three this evening is our presentation from the B SC shik Foundation Miss um aart sorry good evening board president Mr buendia superintendent right it's been a while I'm sorry um and board members and um colleagues I am here tonight not in my regular capacity as the Director of family engagement but as um um someone who's representing the bobq fre Educational Foundation as you see in the PowerPoint there is um some information about the foundation it was created in January of um 2015 and that was before I got to BU USD uh a couple questions that I had received were um if the foundation could have members and if you can see in article six it states that the corporation does not have authorized members to it and and the Articles of Incorporation stated that the corporation shall be conducted by a door board of directors currently the board of directors are Mr Diaz who is a superintendent myself and Dr Morris since Dr Morris's retirement she has been less involved but she's also still on the board the foundation um was dormant from 200 about 21 to 24 due to the pandemic and the foundation has is to provide um we're dedicated to bridging funding gaps in providing essential resources that enrich educational experiences in our community by partnering with local businesses nonprofits and donors we ensure that students have the tools that they need to succeed our areas of support include grants and scholarships as I said before we're fairly knew and we didn't have a lot of initiatives however I started working with a funer from the Jewish Community Foundation and we were recently awarded A5 $11,000 scholarships for future or for Bobby Frey high school graduates that's including our um accelerated campus as well and that will begin this year I included the proposal that I sent to the donor which includes the scholarship application how we'll determine how the scholarship is dispersed and everything so I included all that information for transparency reasons and as you see on February 25th I received a response from the donor and like I said they'll provide five $1,000 scholarships what I'm really excited for so part of the foundation scholarship program uh it has the over you and when I had written this at the time I was only thinking that we would do one $500 scholarship so that has to be revised which is a good thing because we'll have $5 $1,000 scholarships so the eligibility criteria for the scholarship will be they have to be a recent graduate of B USD be of Native American descent have a minimum GPA graduation of 2.5 and they have to be accepted into a credited college or a trade school they will have to fill out the application which is included and they will be funded in July I believe the funds will be paid to directly to the recipients college or trade school and the way we will select a recipient is they'll base it on academic achievement their personal statement and the commitment to their chosen field the committee will consist of a buusd Schoolboard member a current B USD teacher and a representative of the Educational Foundation the recipients will be re notified by mail in August and we will have a recogn a recognition ceremony for them the application deadlines may change due to um just getting approved and everything so that application deadline might change a little bit and I am in the process of creating a flyer so that we can have that ready for students to apply for the the scholarship uh part of our foundation is also offering support to initiatives for the school currently this past project that we had was supporting the 100 day of school event where we purchased two iPads one for a teacher and one for a student and I've included the receipts for that and hopefully in the future we can provide support for teachers to attend professional development by classroom supplies and um just support teachers in more ways but like I said this is a volunteer position so I I do as much as I can um with the foundation um I also included one of our huge things that we did was back in 2022 during the pandemic I was awarded $10,000 to purchase supplies for our I think it was miracon Main Street and I included the receipt in that as well and pictures from that event that was the first year that we did laundry detergent for Christmas and it was hugely um appr appreciated by community members and since then I have been um garnering donations for that for our community members because they feel that you know laundry detergent and household supplies was really beneficial to the families so that's what we've been doing and like I said based off of that we I approached the Sals Community for laundry detergent and they actually funded us this past December to purchase laundry detergents so if you attended the Miracle On Main Street thank you if you attended the main Miracle On Main Street this past year you will see that we gave out laundry detergent then and currently I'm working on Capital Improvements for the sunrise house I'm working with Mr rolloff to get um a quote so that we can get a brand new laundry room I'm really excited because today I just found out that um I was was awarded a grant for two brand new washers and two brand new dryers from the casino so it's part of a package over $50,000 and they approved it so I'm really excited for that so that will get our quote down even lower but my hope is to remodel the sunrise house because we we service thousands of people each month and we just want to provide services for our families in the district because excuse me we truly my goodness we truly feel that our services are greatly needed in the community so we want to be able to provide these services to our families without any delay and making sure that the clothes are washed and everything so um we had our second walkthrough with Mr rolloff and about five contractors so I appreciate Mr rolloff for setting that up and getting the ball rolling and as soon as I have the quotes I'm going to be applying for several scholar several grants for that I'm hoping to apply for the Diamond Back Grant and the food bank of Southern Arizona also has a grant available that would provide um funding for social justice programs which this would be considered so on the last page it kind of it just gives you uh financial information I talked to Miss Carlile and she says this is the easiest way to do it in a spreadsheet so thank you for Miss carile um I just put all of the dates of the deposit the withdrawals and the balances and currently we have $355 in our account right now so everything that goes into the account usually is already slotted for a project that we've already discussed just like the the iPads the Tucson Jewish Foundation because I'm going after specific grants so we don't have any current donors that um donate to our program yet however I'm hoping to focus more on that in the future because it's the foundation is a really good way to help fund programs that we're not able to do through the school district so I appreciate your your willingness and and the opportunity to give you the information I've tried to be as transparent as possible and if you have any questions I'm willing to go ahead and take any questions thank you so much um Miss har any questions M syvia no I was just ready to make a comment um you're doing a terrific job and everything that it sounds like you know you've been doing greatly and I know we've gotten some of the the the la soap and that was really helpful and stuff I do have a question because you talked about donations are we allowed to or can we um advertise that on the website like no um donor P or something we can't that's one of my next projects that I'll be working on is to try to create a web page but um I have been really SW yeah through the foundation since it's all volunteer time I I just have to find a it's the end of football season now for my son so I'm going to have more time on the weekends to work on the project but it isn't it is my goal to go ahead and create a page for it so that we can go ahead and get get donors but I have made really good um connections with different people in the Tucson community and part of my job during the day is to go ahead and attend more meetings in Tucson to get back into the community because when I first came out here I was really well connected into the community and so that's how I met all of my partners but um it's my goal to start attending more Community meetings and I've also want to reach out to different organizations on the nation I you know I know that Native American advancement Foundation is doing a lot of great things and I know that if we partner with different nonprofits we can double funding sources so that's conversations that I'm having right now and and if you guys have any people that you think would want to donate to the foundation just let me know and put me in contact with them and we hope to build it like I'm so excited about the scholarship program I'm I was thinking $500 and when she told me 5,000 I was just so excited so um I will be asking for your um time to help us select a person so but I really do appreciate your time when I apologize that I have to leave it's just I can't drive at night so right I know I see the Sun going on let me quick let me be quick um I just really really want to say thank you and Echo what um Miss Sylvia had shared I think that the importance of us being able to to I think it's important for us to highlight things that are really good for the community and this is one of those things that I feel like can absolutely be great one of the other things I want to make sure to to put out there to the to the community to the public to all is that while this is voluntar voluntary it also means that it is open I hope to to anyone to be able to help you know about it if if ever we run into anybody I know it's it's specific it's different from the school absolutely um but I really am just thankful for the presentation anything else um from the board members but sorry go ahead Miss I do remember when the foundation started because I was on the board then and it was really exciting to hear that you know there was going to be more um uh you know funding available for students and families and whatnot and I'm glad that it's being a big part of your program because you do a lot for the community and the stent um but yeah but I'm looking forward to your donor page because I think it's a good thing because I know that the col has a donor pain we had a lot coming in yeah okay yeah I will work on that and hope I'll maybe I could do like just a update at least make like twice a year or something yeah if you guys need that yeah because we haven't heard anything since well we have we were dormant I have to say that during the pandemic it was just there was nothing happening and so um the nation was like really slow to open up so I didn't really do a lot but I'm hitting the ground running and doing as much as I can now but I appreciate your time that was a good point to make missia and that's what I wanted to also make sure the public was aware of is that we are trying to look at diversifying how we're helping not only the students the teachers but everyone else be successful and I think it's important for that to be highlighted so definitely thank you again um and and I'm really I'm glad that we were able to request and you're able to to put it together for us before I go anybody else no M you're doing an amazing job Miss heart thank you Miss Jessica I just want to say the same thing a you are doing an amazing job with everything that you've done to get the sunrise house to the point that it is today thank you thank you Miss Mr President my members of the board members of the community um the reason um I want to point out right now is to open up an invitation to all members of the community um this uh organization has a potential to have a huge impact to our students and staff um so I am putting a word out right now to the community if you're the type of person that like to seek support that like to connect that like to to be a partner um we taking members um in the foundation uh with we eventually would like to hand it over this organization to community members to help us run this organization and seek um not only uh the funds but continue to increase our our partners um this is uh a foundation intended to help students for the students and for the for the school district and if anyone is interested um um please contact agie Hart or myself that way we can give you more information in how to become part of the um nonprofit bubble K organization um it'll be a great support and and you will be able to leave a footprint that it will last for many many generations thank you thank you thank you it's actually there we don't have members on the Articles of Incorporation state that we cannot have members but we can add them to the board of directors okay thank you sweet thank you so much again I appreciate it have a safe night have a great night thank you be safe thank [Applause] you I'll continue with our agenda number four our new number four is the barue school district audit report Mr di so presid members of the board um we would like to now um also ask our CFO to come forward and help us answer any questions uh but nevertheless in front of you you have the the report um and Aaron if you don't oh wow yes thank you thank you Dennis can you hear us yes I can hear can you guys hear me okay take it away all right good evening uh members of governing board Administration uh thanks for taking the time to listen to the results for the fiscal year 2324 audit results um I have a lot of positive information to talk about so it's always great to do a a presentation when you have positive information uh there was five things within a packet that you should have gotten from the firm uh one being the financial statement that's the large document around a 100 Pages uh that includes our audit opinion the second is What's called the single audit report that's our report on the federal program testing and internal controls we have the usfr compliance questionnaire and then uh the governance communication um so I want to start with the financial statements the large document um for this year we were able to issue an unmodified opinion so that's a a clean a clean opinion on on the audit and the the financial statements um that's a an improvement from the previous year where the audit firm um couldn't give an opinion so there's a lot of additional work that we had to do on beginning balances to make sure that we could get comfortable and tie everything out to the district's record and how that reconciles back to the um the cash balances with the county school and everything so um a positive Improvement on the audit opinion within the financial statements we have three sections which well first is called the introductory section which is just some brief information which includes a letter of transmittal of of the key highlights of what's going on within the district then we have the financial section which includes all of the statements and then required supplementary schedules where I like to guide people to is if you want to read just a little bit of the financial statements to read What's called the managements discussion and Analysis and that starts on page four and what that is it gives you an idea of the significant changes and activity within the financial statements from the previous year to the current year and that Management's discussion and Analysis is presented right after our audit opinion where like I said we gave that unmodified opinion um and then if you go to the very back of that SK statement um around page 46 47 is What's called the statistical section and if you're looking for trending information Trends and revenues or um balances um different types of operational information statistics on Capital asset information or uh teacher accounts that's where you'll see a trending information of 10 years presented so that's the first statement I wanted to talk about the second is What's called the single audit report and if you look at the cover it's just gonna it's going to show cwdl and then it's going to say single audit report right about the middle of the page uh this is the report that we give on both internal controls and on federal compliance and so for federal compliance this year we were were required to test three programs we tested the Child Nutrition cluster the title one program and impact Aid um impact Aid obviously being the biggest program it probably gets tested every year but those other smaller programs get tested on a rotational basis um and within those Federal programs that we tested did not have any findings this year um which again is an improvement over last year where we saw a couple of small compliance things that have been cleaned up in fiscal year 24 when compared to fiscal year 23 as far as internal controls we did have one that we identified as a significant deficiency and this is with the cash reconciliations and making sure the district's uh cash balances as presented within the financial statements um are reconciled in a timely basis to P County School superintend JN can you hear me yes this is a superintendent Diaz it's really hard to hear you I don't know if the microphone is is away from you or you're uh speaking away from the microphone uh but the audio is coming out a little bit from far away making it hard to listen can we try something on your end we try everything on our end is that a little bit better it's worse let's try that one one more time Dennis I said is that a little bit better I'm trying to increase the volume it's fine you can continue thank you okay maybe I'll just talk a little bit louder I guess um as I was saying in the internal control communication we did have uh one finding as it related to making sure cash reconciliations are being done on a Time basis and again we're looking at previous year's information um we've talked with management and we know that this is being uh had been corrected for FIS year 2425 and these reconciliations are being done on a timely basis uh the third report is the usfr compliance questionnaire that's a a 26 page yes and no questionnaire that we need to fill out on an annual basis um there were some things we have in there compliance findings I'm not going to go through each one of these um I know that the district has gone through a performance audit in the past a year and a half or two years as well so a lot of some of these things are carried forward and and obviously things that have been corrected going forward into fiscal year 2425 uh and certainly I can answer any questions that anyone has on those items um but uh again that's the the compliance questionnaire checklist of questions we need to answer and they're specifically yes or no so we're not giving an opinion on uh things like we would internal control procedures uh these are again just a questionnaire put out by the auditor General's office that we submit and like I said the last document is What's called the governance communication this is just a mandatory communication that we need to present to governance to let you know that we're independent that we had no disagreements uh with management or difficulties entered during the accounting process so those are are the four things that have been included and that I wanted to go over today and I'd be happy to answer any questions you have thank you thank you so much I any questions from the board for the auto report no questions thank you so much sir for your presentation we really appreciate it and all the work that you have done Mr Das or Mr car anything to add I just want to say thank you to all of the directors and and principles because there was a lot of documentation that he provided and also want to thank to our business office um it's taking a lot of work and a lot of energy to be able to bring us back to to speed and I want to thank also the Auditors that they've been um collaborating with us for all and and slowly but surely uh turning this around thank you thank you so much thank you appreciate your time thank you thank you we'll continue with this evening's agenda number five is the barbecue SCH govering board financial report Mrs Clementina Carla good evening president when I'm sorry yes president buendia governing board members superintendent Diaz and everybody here um attached uh I hope you had an opportunity to review the fiscal year 2025 expenditures through February the 26th because we had an early board meeting the other one um Erin expenditures big report it's the first one I'm sorry no that's a second one yeah um so I've highlighted areas in yellow that have negative budget balances that doesn't when we have negative cash the grants um that have negative balances will be updated accordingly we will either move expenditures around or update the budget as we get information from ad um and the other one was for sfb and we just need to update that information that's a cash controlled account so we can't really pay anything out until we get approval from sfb and that's fund 691 overall 76.90 SI 6% of the budget for All funds have been expended and that includes incum say leaving a budget balance of 23.4% the average percentage for expenditures through February is 66.67% and without incumbrances B has spent 3938 per of the budget are there any questions Miss Sylvia Hendricks did you explain again about the impact date so the budget is the goal that we were wanting to to spend and we're overspending so we're we're going into what we were trying to save so that's the budget it's not the cash so we've overspent our budget and I'm leaving it that way for now I can I can increase it um the cash is there but we just want to show what we had originally wanted to budget and just that we've overspent in that area good we never heard from the company that we were not supposed to be L is still is still on on work in progress um I on the weekly communication item there's a chronology on the where we are in the process this is losses at don't happen they not they never Quicken up um Gary is still uh looking into different areas um and he's providing us every time he has a new update um but it is is still working doesn't that come out of I think it was a prior year though it's not a current year yeah there would be this year okay my CL counts and balances okay um the next one is the Student Activities there thank you wait before you start yes can we and do you and have you shareed if any uh if we've had any impacts based on the current standing in Washington been frozen or are we looking at any funds that we're not going to get I'm sure you would tell us right away yes I haven't heard anything I think everything's up in the air right now I think we have received the bulk of our funding for impact day for this year okay but that doesn't mean anything going forward you might find something out when you all go to nathis so okay we're we're hoping to hear from you and see if there's anything new but it's craziness right now yeah everybody everybody's very scared I know I just want to make sure we're we're open and and speaking about that it is on our radar and if anything we're in the same boat as everyone else about we are it's it's a scary situation especially with grants and title one's a big one and there's employees that are funded from there so um yeah we're we're trying to be as conservative as possible I think it's it's most of my hope but just why I'm considering I mean I'm I'm open to us looking at streams that we could maybe look at other ways of trying to continue what we're doing because again I think if we approach the Miss on a finance standpoint we want to make sure we're saying well we're trying to do everything we can at some point and who knows how the nation's going to be impacted as well so we're kind of all in the same boat absolutely yeah okay well thank you thank you sorry Miss syia in that line I guess more less uh we have Federal funding and those are I guess that we kind of concerned about and they're the the bigger the big funding revenues so title one you haven't heard anything I know yeah if there's nothing else we'll go ahead and uh okay students so for the fiscal year 2025 stud activi auxilary balances through 2025 um had an ending balance of $3,998 6 um there was deposits totaling $2,391 69 in the month of February from the rodo and fairy event and basketball concession sales there was a transfer of9 from boys basketball to Girls Basketball Club and um there was an increase balance of $2,391 69 from the prior month the student auxiliary fund had deposits totaling $2,343 from the basketball Admissions and there were dispersements of $774 31 for BHS supplies and BMS um basketball game officials the ending balance for the student auxiliary account on February the 28th was $ 5,597 188 are there any questions that transfer from the boys to the girls just it was to cover some of the expenses that the girls basketball team was having okay since they went a little bit further we're having a little bit expenditures okay no thank you so much any other questions for the student okay thank you Miss car thank you get my new agenda all right our number six this evening new number six is the BD tracking teachery Mr or you want presented um super uh Super President W members of the board and members of the community um there was a a board request this is one of the items um and this is an update I to ask our um let me see can you open it up that next one the new um we're going to go uh we can start with the primary and then we'll jump into an immediate and then the secondary uh one of the requests that we had on on the table it was how do we monitor student learning and and also how do we monitor teachers uh progress um and specifically what is the system in place so each school they have put together a little summary of um I ask him for one pager um to be able to show what is that system in place so we can um not only let the community know um and continue to build capacity among one another so at this point with you support me please have the um welcome back me Miss Enriquez our principal for our Primary School let's give her another hand let's encourage that the N is Young thank you mriz good evening president Bon governing board members superintendent Diaz I have submitted um a memo on tracking student and teacher proficiency um did you all have an opportunity to read it good any questions we did I just didn't I just didn't want to miss if there was anything you wanted to make sure kind ofcp I know one pag is one pager but is there anything you want to include um no and I think for the most part they're pretty much the same districtwide and they can correct me if I'm wrong when they come up um but a lot of it has to do not only with just like paper pencil online assessments but it's those observations that we're making on students um I put that under tracking student proficiency is we see them all over the school and it helps us to track their overall Behavior social interactions and engagement and I think that's one of the biggest things that a lot of the times we forget and we only focus on their test results but we also need to see the child as a whole we need to look at the bigger picture on you know are there reasons why they're they're not proficient in certain areas what's going on like I said with them socially um we try to take into consideration like what their home life is like um so that's the one thing that I really wanted to point out yeah no thank you for that I think it's important especially when the question is posed and I feel like it's not not again to put you guys on the spot but I want the community and anyone any of the stakeholders to understand that these are the steps that we're taking to try and ensure we're not just looking at those statistics as the child as the whole and so they definitely grateful for for you guys being able to put this together any other questions from the board not a question presid but I would like to also bring to your attention what are the three components that I'm looking for or or that I want our governing board to hold us accountable it is the system what is the system um are we presenting and I we showing that we know the needs can we identify the needs and and also can are we showing that um pushing and and and and in providing the strategies needed and last um is how do we monitor that the system is working or not so as you review um all of the presentations or or what our principles have provided um I want you to look at um how they not only monitor but they're looking at how are we going to be able to identify what the students need um and are we going to be able to provide professional development for of the teachers so they can be successful and the last one uh what are we going to do when the soon as they get it or they're not so um as Miss Enrique said um throughout the whole District you're want to see something similar and that's part of the systematic approach as well so thank you mriz for putting this together any other comments or questions from the govering board thank you Miss Enriquez and um Miss um vay Lewis I know your this segment of your presentation it is within her principal's report Aon so if you don't mind opening her princip principal report there's one section um in her principal report that talks about uh her system in place to monitor student progress and teacher progress good evening um president of wendia board members and um superintendent Diaz so um districtwide we do follow the pretty much the same thing as Miss Enriquez had mentioned so what on my it's pretty much the the background of how it looks so usually you may not see every little thing that's happening on our campus and so this kind of lays it out of the steps of how we start um teaching a lesson using BT and then using our models of instruction in our BT calendar to help us decide what we are teaching on the top please right where it has the arrows and so there's just one example of a data tracking sheet that um I believe all of us use um I think all campuses use them um so after a teacher teaches a standard or a grade level teaches a standard they take a DFA one and then um based off of the DFA 1 they look at the results and see where the students are struggling they dissect the data and see how can they create a better effective intervention for those students and so they go through an intervention class they split the students among the teachers as well as one specials teachers that they are able to utilize for interventions and then you see a big progress where the first DFA only 52% of the students pass but then in when they did the interventions 86% of the class was able to be proficient in that particular standard so this is just the background of how um how it may look so but all I believe all the schools do the the same thing one of the things that I that I generally kind of prompted the question especially was was some of the definitely the reporting um from the month for intermediate campus and some of the concerns based on the proficiency levels and where they're at what they're doing so I definitely want to make sure I would say for myself just being able to observe some of it in action to be able to see and that that'll take me taking the time to to be able to sit your PDS and just observe and not not to critique but just just so that I'm able to kind of take it in and understand because I understand as well having students at intermediate is also an added level of and across all of our campuses I'm not saying that it's just intermediate but all of our campuses have behavior issues that a lot of different things that that that kind of are out of your hands but I think in particular one of the things that we want to try and and curb or Endor assist in is finding the balance I think especially um it's important and I feel like as we're moving our schools um letter grades and so on and so forth um I I also I also am prompted when I hear families Andor community members um have real concerns about where their student is and how they're being treated and I'm not saying that that anyone's doing anything wrong but I think in their mind and their perception that some students are and I it is you do get a lump sum of who's taking all the tests you know what I mean and then everybody's El it kind of shifts everything else into a degree whereas you will always have students that aren't fairing as well that kind of fall into the weeds of of it all um so my hope is that there's there's a there's a clear system in place that we're definitely giving our best to each of the students so that we're not kind of looking at just those that are actually succeeding in and our proficient but also addressing those that aren't still need all that extra help in addition to that that they're ready to move on to the next grade and as they're leaving intermediate to Middle School seventh eth grade um so that's the only reason I wanted wanted to press the presentation from each of the schools I understand I think that as a board we we able to see um by participating in the U School site visits the the the amazing work I'll say wholeheartedly by um everyone trying to put in place what needs to be done to not only support students but teachers so I think it's good to see this information and now that we have it and we know we can kind of be prompted for questions as a board I hope that we're starting to look at those types of things as we're looking at reports and really gauging um asking those questions if necessary so thank you so much for that anything else on the and and the main action happens um during our professional Learning Community meetings so that's when the grade levels meet um twice a week and then they go over data so that's where they really ask them themselves like what are my strengths as a teacher what are my weaknesses as a teer and coming up with interventions so interventions is like the students who score highly proficient proficient uh like who are all by the different proficiency levels and then they get placed into an intervention class by their profic proficiency level and so our highly proficient students they usually go with our specials teachers and that's where it's more a excelling standard they're still teaching the standard but it's more excelling so and then the students who are not performing then they go with the teacher that that had the class that performed I guess more better or have higher um students who performed in the highly proficient then that teacher teaches those students so then we can get more students to pass no I I understand I mean I can see I I can EnV Vision um one of the things I really like is that you are very active in uh providing some form of either development training or anything for for much of your staff My Hope though is that we're finding individuals who are very good at and I know I know you're looking at those things um that and open to learning and being taught and being coachable I guess is the word and then really addressing whether or not some individuals are just not able to be coachable to say kindly I it's important that we're also looking at those things across the board so it's one of the reasons I want to be able to say well we've been able to see what you're doing what what should be done where's the product where's the where where where is it getting better um so that's my hope and I hope that we're we're we're we're equipped now with some information so we can start to look at that a little bit more yeah and then when you come to our um walkthroughs that's where you get a better understanding of our scores because we don't share all of our DFA scores and then you can in the DFA scores you can see some progress I think especially in my experience the students themselves are kind of responsible for seeing where they are and so they kind of have an idea of okay I didn't do well here and I see you know they're they're basically showing what they're what where they're scoring what they're falling behind in and all that so I think it's really good I think it's also important again to to see um some successes and I don't mean that in any way other than I think we're trying a lot I just want to see if maybe there's something you want to think of for the next s that maybe will be a lot different I know that that pulling the students from putting them in different areas with different strengths and weaknesses um and maybe that does have some success I just want to see want to be open to the fact that you you have a a school to run and and maybe there's a different way or means I know primary has done the same thing with changing who's teaching what so that you where their strengths are they feel really good and they'll be able to do it my hope is that we can get more of that across the board just some food for thought I'm just you know putting out there thank you I know you got it all right if that's it for intermediate monitoring teacher progress next section so on the proficiency monitoring on the bottom so that just gives a brief um snapshot of the the teachers the admin students and the families and how that everybody has a role in making sure that our students are successful so oh Beyond textbooks is BT yes sorry and everything else okay BT okay thank you thank you now let's give it up for Miss Constance our principal at high school you got this okay hello again to um board President W board member superintendent Diaz and everyone else who's still here wrong one it's back at number seven yeah thank you and if you take a look at this one this one's very similar to the one um Miss Enriquez has um the difference is I know she has a lot more with the behavior and observations I think is part of student proficiency and that's one we see less at the high school level and unfortunately it's because at the high school level it's all about the grades um we can and we know you're struggling at home we can get you to theal people but we can't do anything as far as your grades because you still have to pass the classes so that's kind of the reason why that with the student proficiency is a little different um we can get you the support you need and that's tracked through our online system and we are fortunate this year that we have a behavioral support specialist and a counselor and I know we're missing that for a couple of years just just college and career counselor if anyone knows anyone here's my plug please tell them to apply um but that's where we're going with that and it's just tracking that this year with Beyond textbooks and our standards base we're really focusing on those standards to try and like get them before they get really behind and that's kind of where our push is there um in the past if we waited for those sumita assessments we waited until the end of the quarter or the end of the semester to realized they were behind but we're actually pushing those formative assessments so we're um checking more frequently um the progress being made is becoming more Visual and we can see that because we've been tracking those DFAS from the beginning um but that's kind of how we're tracking that proficiency um last year based on the district benchmarks as well as like the aasa which seventh and eighth graders do it was very aligned so we were able to see if they scored this well on the Benchmark they passed on the essay so they were aligned last year so that's kind of why our hopes there um with allowing us to see where where our kiddos are going to be um testing but that's kind of how we're tracking that student proficiency um and then as far as our teacher proficiency um that we're tracking that through our observations our professional development and our formal evaluations receiving feedback on what the teachers need and where they feel like they can grow is where we're really at um and just because I heard you mentioned this to Miss Lewis um we've seen Trends and as I've told people I'm playing chess now with the people we have on campus in the sense that I see your strengths here let's go ahead and move you here because I think I think your weight with how strong you are we can start you off here so that's what we're going for next school year great any other questions any other questions comments thank you for for for providing the the comment at the end about what I asked thank you okay all right we'll we'll slide right into our next item on the agenda which is the barbecue and scho princip reports Miss Enriquez please have a welcome Miss [Applause] Enrique musical chair good evening again governing board Mr Diaz I have submitted um the principal's report in writing I hope you've had an opportunity to read it our list for our love of reading has increased since I did submit it to Ben at his request last week um so we had so many more community members come out on Thursday and Friday to read to the kids um you'll see it in our board video there was just so many that came out um the kids love having guests in their classroom so if you're listening it's not just one month come and read anytime throughout the year um unfortunately our attendance did suffer this P past month um the day after Rodeo was huge a lot of kids did not come to school and we've seen um Fridays a lot of kids and families aren't taking Fridays as an important day of be in school so we've seen our attendance drop drastically on Fridays so Friday is still a school day so please bring your kids to school on Fridays um and then thank you to Lo and the staff from The Hop he always comes out and does a healthy heart Fun Run on Valentine's Day um the kids had a great time running around they just ran around the campus but I know you were there Mr wendia and they they had a really good time so so Ain if you could play our video [Music] build Pizza together that would make pizza even [Music] I'm teacher Jen teaching Filipino kids for 22 years already with me are my 15 Learners who are so eager to see your kids American wave your hands to our Filipino kids here hey thank you very much teacher West City Elementary School is the biggest Elementary School in Dum City it has 3,500 Learners with 101 teachers so imagine how big our school is starting from kindergarten to grade six this afternoon my kids will be teaching you how to say English Expressions into Filipino language now Filipino is the national language of the Philippines so let's get started Alexa please say the first expression in English we [Music] and B and B one one your cat [Music] I [Music] questions for principal Enriquez amazing thank you so much for your presentation let's give it up for Miss Miss beay Lewis please let's welcome back good evening so the only thing that I would like to add is that about our attendance um we did have 65 students who are out after the rodeo so we that this is our lowest attendance rate since beginning of the year so um we push to try and get more students to come to school but that was the only thing that was our biggest struggle for this month should we um Monday the day off rather than Friday there's a few president M members of the board there's a few learnings from this year that we can use the calendar to our favor and the we may have to come back and and bring it to the board for review um based on the lessons we learned this year yeah I agree [Music] think that the run is y and the jump is right our lesson yesterday to identify the X Y s help us in our skills we love W your answers I want to see them in your I see good good what is your uh my head e [Music] for for [Music] thank you Miss big Lewis questions for interview if not thank you so much for your presentation your report thank you next one miss con give it up for Miss con please hello again okay so our school highlights um our lady Warriors made it to the Elite 8 of the state playoffs the number of incidents on the Middle School side has lessened um that's a big win for us because we've been working on behaviors with everyone and we have had fewer incidents at Middle School um our Juniors and seniors did attend um the open house at Toc and they also went to the Pima Community College for a college visit um in the month of February and number four Mr me was honored at the UFA men's basketball game I know um Mr Diaz mentioned it there were more than 30 five applicants and he was one of nine who was selected so just know that it was not just one of nine so but he was honored on Wednesday and then that's if you have any questions [Music] write it down there for the boys the most and the least this what is the most for the boys most what did she say for the boys basketball team for the boys the most for the boys the most the the most the most favorite sport was f a v o r i oh yeah Sport and how do you know is basketball highest number right nice okay gotcha Miss angles on triangles every triangle is going to add to 180 this little square means 90 M 180 9us 40 you get what okay so for this one so we're 180 us 90 we're down to 90 and 90 minus 40 is what' you get I agree I agree I like it [Music] thank you Miss on questions report for secondary C thank you so much for the report thank you and let's give it up for Mr via he's going to redeem himself with a video today right okay good evening again uh president wam BSD board members and superintendent deaz um highlights for the month this year we did have our senior pictures taken for our student to graduate so that was pretty exciting uh we took um just like the secondary school went to the tlcc to learn about college life and that was a lot of fun uh we have two of our students on um playing basketball so one's a high school student and the other one's a middle school student so unique uh Hendrick is a freshman part of the girls basketball team she actually played and got to score in a state playoff game which is great to watch and then Ernesto Vega helped the middle school boys team win the Middle School uh tournament championship at the to high school um this week we had three of our students volunteer to help unload and organize the food items at the Sunrise house hiking Club took a field trip to the desert museum Maka Club had a successful field trip uh to the U OFA and then uh this week is uh we started a perfect attendance week for our students we had seven students who were rewarded for perfect attendance for the week of uh the 18th through the 21st uh one thing as well uh our girls basketball team uh were uh honored by having the best sportsmanship in the AIA of 1A um uh division for the entire State of Arizona which is great I know that they had their little plaque and they were holding it during the team picture so that's a great honor because not every school can do that it just shows the hard work and the great coaching and everything that's going on at the secondary school uh and with our coach coaches and and team so that was awesome I wanted to bring that up as well so we can play the video I swear I put music to this okay [Music] still [Music] let's go [Music] ladies all right big win tonight big win tonight let's go let's go let's get it tonight let's go wow look at the movie star [Music] some [Music] consider yourself redeemed amazing thank you so much for highlighting um what are you what are you doing for your students at the month are you doing anything like for your students I mean sorry perfect attendance perfect attendance um so I call it rewards I don't call it snacks but what I do is I go to Costco and I buy a big old box of snacks and uh it was nice seeing the kids getting excited about just coming into my office the first week and they got to choose their snack and then um it was really cool watching them allow me to take a picture for them or of them you know because um some of the students are extremely shy and they're just like even more camera shy but they actually had a good time doing it one of my uh students was like um I wasn't ready today can I take the picture tomorrow so she came in and got got done up yest the following day and she didn't forget first thing in the morning she stopped at my office I'm ready for my picture so which was good so it's exciting so uh the second week again uh kids came in and and they were excited to choose a different snack you know it's a snack but it's a reward I call it a reward and they're taking it as a reward appreciate that and I want to say thank you for for taking that extra going that a little bit extra for that um I feel like absolutely the the the way that the video is being structured now really highlights what I feel like those students do need is that that that boost Absolut really good job and we we have so many great students at the at the school I've been there a month now it feels like I've been there a lot longer but it's been a month and and uh I've met some incredible kids and you're absolutely right they need the positive they need the uh excitement they need um they need everything else that every other school has in the state you know and so I'm working really hard to provide that structure and uh just encourage them every single day I fist bump all the time I walk into the classrooms uh to check in just to see how their days going and things like that I do have kids who have come into my office to take a chill break because they need to take a break from their schoolwork or maybe they're stressed out and I also have a little punching kind of not a punching bag but a punching U I don't even know what you call it but they'll come back in there and and punch it out for about four or five minutes and head back to class so I'm trying to give every Outlet possible as well and the kids and the kids are following along last meeting you guys saw the rules that we implemented at the schools and I think that has been great of course we got some push back at the beginning but now every student uses the hall pass to leave class um to use the restroom and they got five minutes you know to go up and back and they're realizing that you know we have we're bringing some good structure for them and and I feel that it's only been a month but you could start to see the changes already so other thing I wanted to mention and thank you in the report you I noticed to you guys and again to your staff and everyone that that are doing as much as you can you have after school tutoring what days Monday Monday and Thursdays and then we have Mesa Club on the opposite State Monday Thursday tutoring Tuesday Wednesday Mesa club and those kids are staying after school and I mean we have 15 students staying after school for math tutoring which is awesome and and great uh shout out to miss Garcia and and uh Mr Alvarez because they're putting in their time and and the kids it gives them something positive to do after school 100% agree thank you so much for offering it and to your staff again or to our teachers there um I know it's a lot so I think than them as much as you can whenever I see them I will as well anything else from the board for um accelerated campus thank you sir have a good next item on your agenda is the barbecue Andi School excites tax CR updates Mr Diaz or Miss come back Miss Enriquez um president withar members of the board this is also uh a board request um to by presenting it today we also fulfilling that request Aon Mr B you can open the uh primary campus um that one yeah okay so good good evening again um primary H currently has 56,7 $216 um as I mentioned at the bottom to note that tax credit donations are not guaranteed to replenish annually so I do try to use whatever is available that I'm not sure how much I'll get the following year so that's why I always look at other resources so that way if I do ex need it it's there and we can utilize it um but for the remainder of the Year all grade levels have signed up to go to the symphony um in April and May um we have pre field trips so the top part excuse me are the designated funds so we do have funds for the symphony prek field trips they usually take them to the zoo and then we've uh let them get lunch there they're so excited because they get to go through the little line and carry their own little trays um kindergarten first grade chapter books in second grade and then the undesignated funds we are utilizing for thir grades dat testing snacks end of year Field Day items such as they won um the students were able to turn in so many read and responds for the second quarter challenge they got it they're going to put me in a dunk tank so we decided to wait till the end of the year to do that um and then the jumping castles um our ESS team wants to take our students in the self-contained classroom to Wild Cats which has a lot of sensory um opportunities for them so they signed up for that the Desert Museum the Children's Museum they tried to get the flango planet planetarium but it is all booked for the year so they're going to try to save that for next year um we're noticing a lot of our playground equipment needs replenishing so we're going to look into purchasing items for that um and that's it awesome thank you so much appreciate it no but I do want to point out and and again just for the sake of and I apologize for making get up up and over again but I didn't want again I didn't want anything to fall into an overall report and not be able to be highlighted because I this is important to know um but especially to show what we're doing in the exra offset to help our students be successful and to give them something that actually be um beneficial which I think much of what you do is always is but there's those parts that we can't do that these help to do so I wanted there to be just some highlights I appreciate you taking the time and again everybody for put us chairs with us the inter sorry intermediate miss good evening so we have 6,245 48 um we basically use it just for the ASA testing for snacks and then um we are in the process of ordering more books for the library and then for our field day at the end of the year that's it thank you any questions no if not thank you so much [Music] Mr hello so these are just some of the items we used the funds for um obviously approved through a site Council um our tax credits have paid for Cross Country meets um it actually pays for all two trying to remember it pays for most of the Cross Country meets because cross country is not a club that generates income they don't have they don't have food sales um with when students don't pay their activity fees we don't have any money to pay for the meat so that's kind of why it pays for that um it paid for the w entertainment on Baba day baseball and softball consumables Refreshments for our Awards assemblies if you've been to our Awards assemblies you know we have a little refreshment time that's what it's paid for our testing snacks that's going to be coming up we're going to make a big trip to Costco soon um hotel stays for state playoffs is what we were going to actually use to pay for that our um our pbsi rewards we have started with PBIS this year we're starting to get up and similar to Mr v um we're going to start our rewards with some tangible snacks um and then sashes for um Miss wow good any questions for Miss um there's not an amount up there but it's because there's two different campuses so I just I just didn't put it up there because there's the two different cus amounts but I know it's on the last is the last last month's board meeting yeah that's why I asked for the yeah and because the site Council meets as one and it collectively works as one but then there's the two accounts it just would have taken a little longer on paper for me to do I'm not a ma and I appreciate because I I know I know I said spend it but I appreciate that you guys actually do have a clear path of what you plan and what you like to do with it um but again I also want to make sure impressing on seeking more if we can but again I guess that kind of goes back to what we were talking about earlier with just a separate item with the foundation but nonetheless if there are no other questions for secondary campus thank you so much Miss thank you that will conclude the item for the tax credit updates um next our barbecue invit School dist govering board member reports are there any reports for anything I can do Miss V on on February 12th I did um do the Baba High School Baba Middle School site visit um on February 25th um Miss Hart had invited me to attend a beautiful event at the Intermediate School for the young ladies um and then on February 26 I did attend the um recognition at the s to the point Thank you miss vence any meeting with the of Vice chair representative from the in regards to the lease um and I think we asked to ATT the next is it going to be on the agenda for the next council meeting ENC Bel and belief that they're wanting to do with us in regards get their loation already [Music] build if the plan is to talk about it we hav't we don't have a date right now which they're going to have a meeting um there's a couple of moving pieces in place including meetings with districts regarded our or Master at least um so that particular outcome um is to be determined based on when the next meeting will be well I think to the point of what she reported I think um also because they moved forward but consider people that have been part of that plan I guess one in particular was you know the going back and trying to get it because that was council's question you know people at theable and so that's why I guess they this meeting but there's to come so one of the things I will say is if we are asked to come to any meeting the board wouldn't be able to provide because we we could only address it as we are here now as a so whether we're for or against would but they're not allowing us the opportunity to actually make a comment because they haven't provided us with anything to say yes or no to so I would say if they're asking us to be somewhere I don't think that there's anything that the board can say that would be in support for or against unless we've been given an opportunity to be able to discuss it I guess my question is I know it came through us I mean through just can you turn your mic on pointed towards him just a little bit because sometimes when he's speaking we can't hear him it was a sublease between tocc and BD uh that was approved by both entities and the nation to go ahead and use that for um the school facilities now um they want to come in and I think what they were trying to do and my understanding from that meeting is they just wanted to go to legislative and use that land without inviting bud because I think the statement was it's it's the nation's land so that's when they got kicked back at the legislative Council and go wait a minute and they required them to go to the steps to come meet with us and did invite Mr Diaz to the next meeting but we won't know until we get invited on and then top I was a which yeah I don't really want to get into the leads but I I agree thank you for being there in reporting that that was I you know I want to support them but it kind of I was kind of the that when they started obvious have take to and get um I just wanted to say I'm was looking forward to going to Mr M's recognition I'm really sad that I couldn't have been there I did attend uh the reading Lev reading event on February 28th I went to go reach to Mr Pano's class it was adorable I enjoyed it um I wish I could have read more books to them they had so many questions for me but thank you awesome thank you Miss I think you stepped out Miss Jessica I you have anything you want to record okay um I just want to say want to continue to to impress on on the staff and everyone I was able to attend as much of the um special I'm sorry Student Activities as in basketball that I could as well as um participate in love of reading and welcoming and then all those really great things that that we were able to do as for members and as community members and and as part of the overall effort to to support what you all are doing so uh I just leave it at that I think I've been trying to be available as much as possible I do want to try and impress uh on the board members my fellow board members um the the I think and I don't mean to make our meetings this way and just I'm just speaking as as a report but I know I've been asked I've been asking to pull and put things like on the agenda like separate from reports so that you know it's it's hopefully catching your eye or to see it and it's not buried into any kind of report but feel free again as board as board members if there's something that you want to um make sure is is addressed as you're reviewing uh the board agenda please please you know let Ben or Mr Diaz No or myself but either way um so that we're able to address it so and again I not don't mean to put any one on the spot as far as how the reports are being requested or y'all are being asked to get up and down um but I just really want to make sure that we're we're we're going through much of what we what we need to do as the board and again reason for pulling some of the items that I did pull at the with the approval of the board is so that we can give it more time more effort more attention I don't want it to just kind of be as we are now going through a fullon agenda um not that we're not that we're not giving it time and due diligence I just want to make sure that that's kind of how is expressly y' don't feel like you know so anything more than than just trying to make sure that's all out there and people are able to see it review it if they have questions as well as far as board agenda goes just public um but I think that's all that I have to report if there's nothing else we will continue um number 11 I'm sorry not 11 next item is the agenda is the barbecue and School District Master Le update Mr D president Mia members of the board members of the community um um there was it was brought up to our attention that our lease uh what had expired uh at leases had expired uh for quite a while uh so as soon as he was brought up to our attention we began working with the go Council um this particular item it was also a board request um I would like to point out that um all governing board requests there are listed also on our weekly um highlights a report um this is item number 31 request number 31 um and it lets you know the update of all the requests that we have fulfilled so this particular presentation is also going to fulfill uh request number 31 um on our uh weekly highlights report um and in here it shows all of the steps that we have already taken so if you don't mind eron opening the document um with the support of Gary and also Mr sabala that he is also leading and putting together all of the um appointments required um I also want to thank uh president mundia for joining me uh during the sales presentation meeting uh he made a difference um to be there and and and seek the support from the um Le land committee land committee um and also thank you in advance because I know this Saturday and Sunday uh we have to meet with sales in uh Babble K District um to be able to continue um presenting to the community um asking them for the support for the continuing lease um I know we have um some additional uh requirements which is the surveying the landine and if you don't mind scrolling down um and some of based on today there's there was also an update that some items that they're not going to be needed uh but I want to thank Ben sabala for being on top of this particular item um we it it requires a lot of steps but uh we've been able to keep up um and try to uh meet the requirements at the earliest convenience so we can move forward any questions regarding the lease Mr saal I think we're we're moving forward at a gradual gradual Pace but I I would like to move faster but I'm I'm dependent on surveyors and and and resources from the nation um I did talk to uh uh Gerard for cultural environmental clearance he stated that he need to talk to his boss because he doesn't think that we do need it today and I go if that's the case let me go tomorrow and give me something in writing uh we have a David putt that's gonna be contacting this week he's been working with TOA I believe he said and he's been really busy but he's going to try and give me a invoice this week of uh the measurements of all the lands that we sent him and I think thank you for going the eighth and Ninth because we need those letters letters of support letters of resolutions resolutions from those two communities and that would complete it we go back to um Bia with Bia uh realy realy yes and hopefully we just move forward from there okay we are unable to attend um and because we're going to be nist three of us we we're going to be going to nist so uh board members you have have it um on your calendar open this Saturday and Sunday if you would like to join president wendia let uh Ben know and also president Mia because the three of you show up it's a COR we need to uh we need to um announce it this Saturday and Sunday to present to the two other districts um the presentation is done um for it's a matter of just going and presenting and answering any questions the community may have do not jump who's going to Jess who's available Saturday who's going on Saturday and Sunday let me know if anything I mean I'm fine to do them I just want to I I know for sure Saturday I just found out I have a work thing but I'm GNA try and just do the presentation I don't know if there's anything that they might have lingering questions but I'll do my best but for sure Sunday I am good did we get a time for Sunday Mr did we get a time for Sunday okay that's to right okay all right thank you thank you again and again board members I I I requested the lease update you know the agenda separate from everything so that we could definitely uh show that we are having those discussions and where we are at this point I will share as far as my participation in the meeting with sales Community is they definitely are aware and are concerned that they were not consulted and they are not um being given the opportunity from the get-go to have a say in what goes on in their Community I'm just sharing that because I think it's important for us to be able to say that we are doing our due diligence the school district is starting with the communities with the districts with who we need to have conversations with and not just assuming that we're going to have have something done and completed as just because we can but that's here nor there um with that I'll move on to superintendent Diaz's report president when members of the board I members of the community uh within the board uh superintendent report there's also another request from the governing board um and the request is um how are we supporting our students and how are counselors supporting our students um and and and making sure that they on track um and part of the social emotional director report um which is um right there now on the bottom social emotional director um one more up and if we can scroll down scroll down um right here um and at this point may I have our director to give us some highlights regarding the way our counselors are supporting uh our students our counselors are supporting our students let's give it out for Aon Cordon social show director everybody put your hands together hello hello good even guys um can you scroll up a little bit to the very beginning actually in the second bullet of this report this is where I kind of broke down I meet with our counseling staff every other week so on a given Friday I'll be at the secondary campus on the other Friday I'm at the intermediate and um the primary we all meet together for that one so I broke down the different roles so you guys have an idea of what we all do at the sites it's different based on the grade levels and what's needed so the percentage of how much account counselor spending doing a particular activity is going to vary at the role and at their site but I want to First make sure you guys don't have any questions on that bullet point right there which one are you looking at so right there our counseling staff provide kind of go over the different duties that we have and then how counselors how students can see us whether or not they self- refer or that we receive a counseling referral from a staff member parent guardian or Community member I I don't have any questions any questions to that portion okay and then the very last of the board report came from Miss Haley at the secondary campus and I was asked to also include it in this report eron do you mind going to the very end yeah yes please going down I'll go a little bit more there has a little chart okay so all of this information right here is provided um by Miss Haley in regards to the senior class um and what she has done and what she's continuing to do to provide the resources for the graduating class so a big reminder to everybody is regardless of where a student stands in credits you can have 50 credits but you don't have the credits in the right areas you're not going to graduate every year at this about this time until the end of the year we keep asking how many students are on track how many students are on track and a lot of pressure like falls on Haley and sometimes she doesn't have answers because it's not the deadlines yet it's not the due dates and stud students have to pass every single one of their core classes that they end up in an extra math as an elective they end up in extra elective classes that maybe they actually don't need that to graduate but if they don't have the 22 credits and in the right areas they don't graduate so sometimes you know some students have failed classes they might have failed to do the summer school or the winter like session there or they're they're on that border where they're not doing that extra work or not attending that tutoring so until final grades are in she doesn't know an answer so a parent might actually say like I need a yes or a no I need a yes or a no is my kid graduating she can't give that yes or no sometimes because those kids are right on that border until she has all the information herself so I just want to make sure again like so we look at the number of credits we are pretty good overall um this year like with everything that we've gone through with covid and the amount of electives students were like in deficit on here's where we stand and further down is you'll see the breakdown of what again what she's done as far as going over the transcripts meeting with parents meeting with students the field trips Etc and she took on all of this you know as far as the a lot of the components when it comes to the college and career counselor since there wasn't one in place this year anything what is Miss Haley's current title so miss Haley is the school counselor so she's a certified um school counselor and her main role is academics she backs up the social emotional but she's the main one that handles the um she has different Rapport and relationships with some students and those she's the go-to for those particular students but in general when it comes to behavior we have Mr why now at that campus who is the behavioral specialist so he handles a lot more of the social emotional component and and again Haley backs him and just the same thing he understands about graduation credits he can go over the grad progress he can explain you know what grades and attendance and have those kind of conversations with parents to and he'll back her up when it comes to the academic par okay I was just a little concerned because you have graduation requirements in a coun report but I but I and to me I differentiate those things between two separate things yeah I was asked to include it in this report as well so that's what I did so you oversee Miss Haley I do not so I I do not oversee the counselor the counselors are under their principles for that particular site but I over I oversee in the sense that I back them and I will work with the administration issues arrive with a particular member of the counseling team but I am not their direct supervisor okay maybe I need to understand guidance counselor because Miss on mentioned guidance counselor it's yeah a certified school counselor with ad that's the certification okay I have questions but um anything else from the board question siia regarding the uh College is it College college and career counselor do we have any have we or do we have any Advocates at all haven't had one all year long and we haven't had a behavioral specialist at the primary all year long how are we I saw they recently changed the um behavioral specialist position of primary to a dean of students kind of looking more at that behavior and I believe they changed the requirements for the college and career counselor that no longer requires a master's degree because that's what it was change to and then change back so hopefully especially now as you know different people look for jobs in different places that maybe we will get someone that can look at taking on that position because most for a school counselor with ad to become a certified school counselor it's a master's degree program Mr Diaz your mic is not off tting can you hear me now thank you uh part of our recruitment efforts um has included um the HR department along with our principles and members of the team they have come to multiple um recruitment fairs in advertising our positions we also advertising in multiple um Platforms in tral catch um this is a position that we've been trying to fulfill throughout the entire year we have not been successful at this point um as the year comes closer and graduate and new graduates start um finishing the programs um we also um blocked a couple of Mondays between now and the end of the year to try to provide tours for any prospective candidates in any of the positions that we had open um we've been successful once they make it here once they walk through the schools once they see the students um a uh a large group of people that come through that tour they've been able to then um stay with with us okay any other questions for the thank you Miss Cordon thank you guys thank you Miss Cordon um I have asked Miss Cordon to support me with this as one of the duties as assigned to be able to provide us what is the the fulfill that board request or how we supporting our students and how are cancel supporting our students on track to graduate so are there any other questions related to these board request that way I can provide an update yeah but I feel like I have to myself put my thoughts together on how I'm ask that question say something all know how to follow up in sport I think for the most part especially what a board I know the board has asked know missia particular asist and she she this Cordon kind of touched on was and and and kind of gave gave an gave me an understanding of when we ask who's on track to graduate I don't want to say that we should kind of have an idea but I think that maybe the system in place to help get to that level so that we kind of have better more understanding as opposed to waiting for those reports or that that that testing I feel like we should be able to gaug who's about there or ready to do so rather than than say we don't know until they pass the certain yes I was I would like to bring my expert um for the high school and that way you can uh also she can add on what else is going on um so we know how to we are supporting the students to ensure that they are on track Miss constants if you don't mind adding any additional information okay just so you know Miss Haley as the guidance counselor meets with the students after the semester because the reality is like Miss Cordon said the student can be passing passing passing and then in December all of a sudden they have the winter blues and decide to do nothing and their C goes into an F or d goes into an F so they don't get the credit right that's a reality um as we see these young kiddos trying to get that ownership so that does happen and I think that's what Miss Cordon was trying to touch on the fact right now is the student students that are currently on track are in the green because they have 20 plus credits the kiddos in the yellow right now they can still graduate but it's up to them because if if they decide to miss the rest of the month you know they're behind on the work so they have enough credits that if they pass all their classes this semester they're going to be walking across that stage the ones in the red those are the ones that I explained before they're the ones who came to us like their junior year with zero to no credits they have 17 credits is it realistic for them to graduate unfortunately because of the um we do have some students that do come jump around from school to school and when they come um mckenny vento students come without their transcripts but we enroll them we don't know what credits they have and sometimes they tell us and they don't remember what credits they have so they end up retaking them because their transcripts come like a semester later because it's in that process so we do work with them and then they'll get that elective credit because when they take it a second time and they pass it's an elected credit it's not a required credit so there's all these little things that happen um but miss Haley does actually track and has her system for tracking when she does meet with them so all that is behind the scenes and she does have her records of who she contacted um and we actually did something new for um for what is it called um for tutoring because we do have have um Tuesday and Wednesday tutoring what we found out is the students weren't taking the papers home um she sent a mass email to all the students who were invited to torine and guess what those numbers went up so it's those little pieces where the students aren't necessarily going out um one thing we did notice and as Haley noticed is when students go from middle school to high school you don't have to pass your classes in middle school and especially with the Way co was we were a little more graceful with those FS because we didn't know if it was the online learning we didn't know if it was a hybrid you missed a lot because we were honoring that you were sick and you didn't want to you know you didn't want to put anyone out there so we honor that um so they would pass maybe if they had a d or F they still got moved up um right now and so when they became freshman it you couldn't just pass up you just don't pass up you need those credits um but with that in mind that is why we've created the nth grade success team we are working on that for next year um the nth grade student students will have the ability to like the nth when I say nth grade it's going to be the eighth grade students right now will have the ability to earn a half a semester worth of credit during summer school this summer to get them a head start so they don't feel behind um so we are looking at ways to get through this and encourage the students and with re research shows that if students are successful their freshman year they're more likely to graduate and we see the trends here when we have you know the six kiddos that aren't going to make it unless they get that you know internal motivation um but that's what we have and again they're yellow because they need to pass all their classes so it could actually be 40 students do any questions thank you that shines a whole different light I do want to say considering the um what you call it winter slump it could be spring fever too is what they call it for this time of year senioritis yeah senioritis yeah no I know I know it's it's something we experience every year for sure I just don't know how if we if we thought about different solutions to trying I don't know I'm sure it's a tough time for kids sure but I but yeah no thank you for so much for the information you know always you know and you know that and and I like the idea ofman it's called well we called them the ninth grade success team but yeah and having them understand that they're not in middle school anymore and this is the process and the process now you earn you earn the grad you get the credit and especially you know I've always pushed my kids dpas you know because that you know actually something that is also add when you're ready to go beond so I you know just wanted to make sure that this this freshman um Academy or whatever it is is is giving that them that information um the other question I had was are we recognizing those with those things we can take the pictures and get that done I don't know about the hanging pieces that's up to Mr Diaz that's the answer yes we have the material and and we'll collaborate with operations to collaborate with the U with the nation to be able to hang those posters as we do it every year um I did have a a followup um Miss Constance on say if you don't mind also elaborating that Crea recovery opportunities for students um that they had throughout the year during the day during winter um if you don't mind also sharing up she shared it if you looked at this report it's actually on here yeah so they actually were able to go to summer school last year the students were all sent the information so they could go to summer school scroll down just a little bit she's talking about credit recovery opportun right there see summer school 2024 then there was fall 2024 and spring 2025 so they did have the opportunity um we also have a few of um it's a Class Credit Recovery and it's for those students who need to recover credit so they do have access to that um they have access to the credit recovery classes after school at home if they're sick on the weekend so they do have access to the classes to do it but for with support they have throughout the school day and then right now with tutoring I wonder if in the in the in the new year let's let's along with this ninth grade Success Academy I whatever we're calling giv guys different names our community days I feel like should have this everywhere so that parents and everyone know these are the opportunities that because I'm sure like you said students aren't taking them home and they don't know or parents don't have an idea I think it'd be really good I know we highlight things like fields and field days and you know fun but I would also say make sure that this stuff is plastered everywhere like hey these are the opportunities if your student or anyone is behind I'm sure we're doing that all the time I'm not saying we're not but I feel like when we have an opportunity to really affect the community and the parents or anyone else that's going to parti in these events that we're calling Community Days um good opportunities especially I was going to mention earlier uh when I was at the primary campus I did you know it's the kids that just walk in like strolling after after eight or nine almost nine o'clock and you know no no real like enthusiasm just uh just give me my stamp and I'm going to class and that's where I'm like all right that's I see so from there on I mean even then as far as our middle schoolers giving them that emphasis at the beginning either and again like Miss Sylvia mentioned your GPA has an effect on what you want to do after it's not just graduating high school and you get to go anywhere you want you kind of they look at these things to gauge whether you are G to go in or not so just opportunities I think we could look at in in next year Mr um president Wendy um I just also want to point out in in for the community the bab K of high school districts have had the opportunity to provide support after covid for all of the students that were falling behind we had had um after school we had summer school winter School uh After School Credit Recovery during the day Credit Recovery winter break winter break um Credit Recovery um we also um there were red flags um embedded in the report card so parents they will know uh so they can be aware if the student is falling behind um We are continuing to find ways in bring that um development and and awareness to the parents um and also including Miss Haley has met with and provided um notifications to the families that way uh parents they know if the students are on track um and we have been doing it for now uh for two years in a row to ensure that parents are notified they arew um and that the students are and just one more thing the actual the master schedule was set up to ensure that there was an extra period because once upon a time there were six credits um per school year that you could get now it's seven and that was to incorporate that class that you didn't pass within the school day so that's all been things in the works just a little at a time okay thank you beautiful so that fulfills the next request um the now for The Other Board reports um I would like to point out and highlight um um I have to uh do me a favor and and and I would like to acknowledge and give a a big hand to Mr Roloff um as so right now uh he has able he had been able to secure 13.6 um 13, 686,000 um for um SF funding to be able um to be able to uh upgrade our our building so thank you let's give him a hand um that takes extra work and insurance that's funding that we didn't have to worry about so thank you for for uh taking it to the next level for transportation um they finishing the trans that's coming down to all of the buses near you um and and also um the they participated in the Rodeo Parade and they brought home the first place so let's give a hand to Transportation so thank you uh the sunrise house she's she is also uh perfecting in in in collaborating and putting together uh a way how we can uh address The Chronic absentismo the parently Aon um and and and collaborating with the nation so um that's news coming down the road uh she is taking it upon herself to uh bring it to the nation's attention and and make sure that the the nation steps up um that way our parents that um are struggling um due our students are struggling with chronic absentismo uh the support that students deserve um I want to also give a big shout out uh to the our exceptional um education director for the Special Olympics let's give a big hand for the team and and for the support participating I know there's also another event they're going to be attending and also want to point out uh to the member of the community this is um a request for support um we are uh recruiting not only for the rest of the year this year but also for next school year we have six vacancies so if you know anyone that um it's um um fluent in the Autumn York to please contact us us so we can begin the process and guide you on how you can become part of Babble K fire School District um and I want to thank the governing board for all of the support February was pretty intense with so many requests on the weekends uh after many hours um going not only to the sport events to go to District events um and other special meetings and plus other the classroom visits um thank you for staying active and thank you for being part of our learning and support for everybody and at this point let's play the video [Music] erron then he wrapped yo yo yo then he ribbon ho ho ho and in every package each had a big beatti fo Bowl check and double check so far so simple so perfectly perfect we are can tell the evidence from supports and Au argument oh awesome what is x equal to and why what do we notice here you you have the right answer but we need to switch it you are correctos is process you're chromosom there [Music] he [Music] um we have officially completed all the visits with all the communities and the chairman for this school year uh now our next step for the Dual language program progr is now complete the process with u hrdc and cultural preservation but again it was a it was a fun journey to be able to go to all the district and provide all the highlights and thank you for taking the time and joining us um any questions for the board of comments questions for superintendent report um Mr Diaz unless you feel otherwise I would like to excuse your directors or Administration un L they feel like they want to hang around for the rest of the meeting you're welcome to join us until the end of the the meeting uh I do thank you for your consideration president M and in I know you have a long day tomorrow so if you're ready to go home please take some food and have a great night drive safely thank you guys do not take all the food board members go get you dinner we didn't eat yet I had some cheese bread whatever it was okay uh we'll go ahead and continue with our meeting um so we get out a little as much as early as we can uh our next item is the coaches and Club sponsors again board members this is just for your information uh Leela Ooa for high school boys and girls this is my question High School cross oh track and field head coach boys and girls head coach and Richard Garcia for assistant track and field coach is that for this year this year the track and field yes people okay if there if there are no other questions um again we we we pulled the first reading of the Arizona School Board Association policy advisories for 809 through 818 um first reading of the BD policy Amendment for IFK graduation requirements are there any questions at this point or do it's just the first reading it'll come back to our next meeting do you want me to brief it real quick go ahead um back in my recovery last semester uh a policy advisory came through for graduation requirements and that had pushed through and was approved at the September board meeting previously uh the board had approved uh the graduation requirements of one credit of either language to language TI history or Native American studies so once it was approved in September those fell off off I think I just didn't give it my due diligence and it kind of bad bypassed all board members and the superintendent and I wanted to bring it back for review for the board members and then we'll bring it back for April are we in April April's board meeting okay any questions if not um we'll start our action items number one is discussion of possible acceptance of the FY 2024 annual audit reports issued for fiscal year ending June 30th 2024 board members this is what was presented earlier tonight Mr Diaz president members of the board um as president Mia said um part of the process is after the presentation we now we need to approve um the audit findings and the audit outcome from um the the updated results um like the presenter said um based on on the progress that we have um it was mostly um the many of the findings were corrected as so this here we still we still have one are there any questions if not I like the motion to approve I'm sorry I was going a motion to approve and accept the FY 2024 annual audit reports I second it and just make a comment that and there was a lot of work that went into yes and I appreciate the efforts that Botha and the district office put into getting that done I agree 100,000% um there no other comments or questions Mo secretary for the vote M motion carries thank you so much number two is our discussion and possible appr possible approval of the barue Unified School District 2024 202 2026 school year standards Mr Diaz president when members of the board um the the business office and the gr director and myself uh we have met with every single principle uh we have look at the projection of um how we continue to be uh financially stable and and financially sound um and as part of the projection what one of the ways that we want to now bring to your attention that we would like to increase the standards for the classroom size um at the uh primary um in all of the schools actually um before the primary was uh uh 21 and and some of the uh older students we have 25 to one um what we are encouraging is to increase across the district uh the the classroom size by three students okay by three students um even by increasing it we're still going to be lower than any um other surrounding districts uh and by doing so is going to be able to um absorb some of the positions or not or close some of the positions that we will not need um making us um opening up and and and helping us balance the budget as well okay questions from the board you I I'll make the motion I just I guess we'll just have to see by the end of M know the outcomes and we have met with every single principle like I mentioned and we we took their input as well um they felt that um um based on the numbers that we going to have we still going to be able to manage what we what we need to manage um it's it's a small increase um any small ripple effect that anything that we plan and small steps that we take is going to have a long ripple effect in the long run so this is one of the steps that we would like to feel comfortable and bringing before you um that we feel that is going to make a difference financially as well the numbers and what are we going to um for the primary they it was 20 to1 now it's going to be 23 to1 and for the older grades it it was um 203 uh and now we're going to go to 25 in some of the grades so it it's still manageable you I have a question well I want to comment I'll second but I want to comment real quick I know initially had approved as well for those instances where someone is taking on more students will that need to be adjusted because of the changes that we're making to this again the so when they're when they're I forget what it's called somebody somebody probably remembers what it was we had approved a rate adjustment for those that take on more students case management I think for ES that's it doesn't for this it it wasn't just ESS it was when takes on more than the year of x amount of students and they would get more funding is that going to have to be adjusted because you're increasing the size now per teacher is that what that is yeah I don't remember what it's called but it was basically if a teacher ends up taking on more than what they're alloted for the year they would get a statement for taking on more students for secondary and for high school um hopefully I'm I'm I'm referring to the right um school as far as I remember where um if we don't have enough teachers and we ask of the teachers to take over an extra an extra period um and at that point um I think this was specific to if it's for x amount of more more than just a period a day it's like if they do it for half the year then they're due a St if I remember correctly go ahead syia she's just that in line of that I guess my understanding of that because if they went over the amount of what is standard then obviously yeah but if we raising not because whatever that is and if they get more than what that standard is the cap that's my understanding my only ask is is if it needs to be adjusted because raon that is thank you so the the overcap Cornell right the overcap um we will look in in in into that and see if we need to make any adjustments um thank you for bringing that up um now I know what what we're talking about the importance of while absolutely that was the only question if not I second there no other questions um Mr SP okay number three discussion and possible approval of the barbecue UNIF schol 2025 2026 school year step increases Mr um I'm going to make a preson members of the board um I'm going to make a a little commercial um we had um in one of our winter Retreats we talked about how we going to close the the um inflation Gap and the way we did it uh the first step was to give our teachers in class 55% and admin was getting 2% this year now we're going to invert it and teachers uh we're going to get um uh 3% and admin was going to get 5% based on the review and some of the small steps that we needed to take um we still going to be able to provide an an increase to be able to uh reduce the inflation Gap and the g the the way we are going to be proposing it is uh um since teachers are get already got uh the the 5% this year they're going to be getting the 2% increase um admin this year they will get instead of a five they're going to get 4% increase and the classified staff many of them that were eligible they got the winter U during the winter they got the vacation PID which was an extra paycheck but we also are proposing a 4% for this year so the way it runs is Teachers they get a 2% Plus a previous 5% that would be a total of of 7% our classify they got um the 5% the winter but we proposing a 4% because they the ones that make the least amount and en Clos their their inflation Gap and now the admin that will be getting a 4% plus a 2% that they got before totally in a 6% having said that um I'm recommending that the admin uh the administration's recommendation is that govering Bo proov as step increase of $630 for certified classified staff paid from the teacher and non-teacher salary schedules approximate approximately 53% and a 4% increase for all staff classified administrators for the fiscal year 2026 um approximately and uh that change will um will be budgeted for $220,000 in some cash is it possible to to see kind of a breakdown of what that look like you to see tonight but I understand just before it's implemented what that looks like across the board yeah we we can set that informative memo of to all board members so you can see what that looks like okay any other questions or comments look like um go ahead and motion to approve the salary increases for all staff for FY 2026 is there a second second second by Miss Stevens it's not it's probably like a little bit uh discussion and possible approval of the 2020 I'm sorry motion carries we'll move on discussion and possible approval of the 2025 proposed salary schedules for class by pay replacement H technician bus driver all salary diesel mechanic mechanic exceptional student services certified salary schedule non- teing salary schedule SLP SLT salary physical and occupational therapist language and culture culture teacher FY 2026 Senor president Mia based on the previous approval um right uh the next documents uh point out what is going to be the step increases for each one of our of our groups um and uh project uh representing and and the the increase that you have approved so we recommend the bab un fire School District govering board to approve the 2025 2026 salary uh weight schedules as presented questions from the board motion to approve motion to approve the uh 2026 salary schedules by Miss anary Stevenson there second second Miss Sy Hendricks most okay motion carries number five is our discussion and possible approval of the 2025 2026 professional and support staff supplemental schedules Mr President M members of the board members of the community um our staff they also take uh um all the duties and as part of those duties we also have uh some stifen to compensates for to compensate for those extra duties um we have attached all the necessary documentation now to show what we are recommending um for the stiens for next school year and the administration is recommending that the proposed 2025 2026 professional and support St supplemental schedules to be approved major changes Mr Diaz um I don't have my CEO right now to be able to give me the exact detail but I'll be more than happy to provide you with all of the details um that were included and how they were changed okay oh anything to highlight for the supplemental schedules nothing just a professional we added um the um ESS transitional um it was they were doing it individually like at each board meeting and so instead of having to to repeat it every year we just added it onto the uh supplemental so it is highlighted um at the bottom and we did talk about the yeah the it's a professional yes this transition typ in okay yeah the bottom and the other only other change was the uh funding for the CTE director so everything else stay the same thank you thank you Miss be thank you Miss be if there are no other questions a motion to approve the 2025 2026 professional support staff supplemental schedule second second second by m an Stevens okay motion carries next item is a discussion impossible approval of the bariri school district 2025 2026 certified and classified employee renewals Mr Diaz president when members of the board members of the community it is the time of the year that we can may bring come before you um at this point this is the list um and and our recommendation and we are recommending the bab uni School District Cy board to approve the 2025 2026 employee renewals as presented question um if any are pending what's the status can we offer a lifetime contract to our executive assist on motion I'll make a motion I'm glad you're returning that's all I'm saying I'll go and make the motion uh motion by Miss Sylvia Hendrick second by Miss anary Stevens motion carries board members number seven is our discussion on possible approval of the barbecue High School District 2025 2026 Administration renewals Mr similarly to the previous um approval president members of the board um now I'll bringing before you the list of the administrators for Renewal and we recommend the public UniFi School District govering board to approve that 2025 2026 Administration renewals as presented okay are there any questions if not is there a motion to approve motion to approve motion by Miss anary stev to approve the barbecue in school district 2025 2026 Administration renewals Miss syia HRI seconds number motion carries number six I'm sorry number eight is our discussion on possible approval of the intermediate campus librarian move to specialist classification president when members of the board um in in an effort to be more strategic in the positions that we have and in the way that they can support students that in media campuses asking to move uh the Liberian to OPP position um as under the special teacher by doing so the the Liberian will be able to provide um other duties including intervention uh to support students and assist students in developing Mastery in technology and other duties indicated that um and in the memo provided um I fully support this Pro uh this recommendation that way a Liberian can be maximized to support not only the students but also the team in reaching our reading and math goals having said that um uh we recommend the public UniFi School District governing board to approve the job uh classification update as presented is there currently a library yeah we do have a library so I just had a question so with the change in the um job description and the title does the libr the liian have to for that or it would be a a lateral move is that correct I like no it is I have a motion by Miss syia Hendricks to approve the intermediate campus librarian move to special class seconded by Miss Stevens and thank you to the current librarian for doing more than was actually suppos um number nine is discussion and possible approval of the proposed Revis 20142 noner salary pres W members of the board this is also the time of the year um this is um based on the list that was provided to Human Resources we recommend that b High School District goverment board to approve the revised non-teacher salary schedule as presented any questions for the salary schedule if not um I'll motion to approve the 2020 revised 2024 2025 non teer salary schedule second second by Miss Kathleen V four motion carries letter G is our consent agenda without objection a motion to approve is there second second second by Miss anary Stevens okay our consent agenda is approved letter H the request for future agenda items I can't do Saturday the 22nd uh and for sure we're on for the sixth this week right yes what time what time okay okay I'm G be here you guys feel like we can add we can probably not those it out we're already taking the time if he can just provide something I'm open everybody okay for the six just to extend another hour from 5 to 8 okay yes we're doing it all right then that that thank you that clears that's perfect and we might not go the whole h River yeah anybody want to commit that's on the 28th correct what are your dates yeah I don't mind Friday it's a Friday you can go but I need 100% confirmation because we make the arrangements and I want to make sure that I need your 100% commitment um so who's going to be willing to go okay Miss Divens I'm only going to give you 75% commment compc um Casablanca you should go you guys go I can should anybody else once tce V maybe and M Miguel maybe oh yes 75% 8 better than mine he that's better do you have anything for River date huh do you have a river date um was that the one thought the one scary there no stop that's all awesome thank you guys better work are there any other topics for the April um agenda you would like me to uh include or followup I think after April is it because um I thought it was a the the tracker that you s was the first Monday of April after we're not April oh April 8 you guys don't get spring break no uh students do ad men doesn't okay unless they take the time off to right break and okay if there's nothing else for future agenda items is there a motion to adjourn motion by Miss syvia Hendricks I'll second

e e e to order Ken Dawson here Jan Hashim here Jason Trio here thank you right now let's say the Pres uh the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge aliance 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 all right thank you we have some important stuff to do right now we're going to recognize our students and staff and I'm going to turn that over to Dr KY and uh he will all right we've got a lot to get through and a lot of fun stuff tonight so we're going to start with gymnastics I think both principles are coming up for this y yes good evening everyone so it isn't too often that we get get to present on the same thing when we're celebrating um but we are so lucky tonight to celebrate our tros stings which as I think everyone knows is our state championship gymnastics team that represents both Downers Grove South and Downers Grove North I'll let Courtney say a few words and then we're going to introduce coach Campos awesome Yes um we don't often get to celebrate these things at the same time and so tonight we are very lucky to present our tro stings and I just have to say um it has been so wonderful watching these young women um just absolutely shine and I could not I cannot tell excuse me tell you how proud I am of them um they were just so beautiful when they performed and we are so lucky to be able to say that they are state champions so Kristen if you wouldn't mind coming on up and introducing your team sure hi um first I just want to kind of acknowledge a few accomplishments that this group has had Beyond being state champions this year uh they went completely undefeated in every dual meet Invitational you name it not one person could beat them this year they were completely dominant uh in their performance including at State this was the largest winning margin in over 25 years of the state meet history so it was really something to celebrate what they were able to do um as a group so tonight we have seven of the eight with us um so if you could just stand real quick when I call your name uh Edie Condon Ally palansky Ken Landry hold on who is also a state finalist on bars earning fifth in the state and then uh Emily kta Jen haran are all around and balance beam champion and second on VA aroline Phillip she was a vault finalist also Lauren DC and then I have to acknowledge my assistant coaches uh Kylie Basco and Bill Norris it is truly a group effort um and I'm gonna introduce kayn and jevie to say a couple words go ahead hi I'm Kaylin Landry um I would like to start off by thanking our coaches Campos Kylie and Bill for leading us to be our best and leading this record-breaking season the title of state champion signifies so much more to this team than what is LED on it simply adds a cherry on top to the real depth of Downers Grove Gymnastics state champs means to us the family we have created with our bonds with our special bonds and relationships that I will always have close in my heart the title shows our support and accountability we have for one another we lift each other up and all strive to be our best with every competition every practice and each turn from our bus rides blasting music our talks feasting over cookies the conditioning we push through together every 9.0 or better beam routine from our tough competitions our tears the go take a walk and eatting Oreo practices so that feeling of cheering during every routine keeping our feet up on bales having a party on floor getting our handstands and hitting five for five on beam or really any event and the love we feel for each other when we get to stand up on the podium and hold the trophy that tells us that it is all worth it and hard work truly pays off so being crowned state champs to the tro stangs doesn't just mean winning it means our ups and downs we have been there together for our love for our love for gymnast ICS that we share and most importantly the love we have in this family oh hi I'm Jen and a question I always get asked is how did I do that or how do I make gymnastics look so easy but the truth is it's not just me but it's the people around me that got me to this point from my parents who have driven me to every practice and have come to every meet to my coaches who have helped me to find my happiness in the sport again and to my teammates for being my biggest cheerleaders in support I wouldn't be where I am today without each and every one of you my team is a family and I'm so unbelievably proud of each and every person seeing our hard work pay off at the state meet was something so special to see and to be a part of this season was record-breaking literally and everyone worked hard to achieve our goals together we really put in the work the season and spent countless hours in the gym I always had my teammates to give me pep talks and to do all my assignments with I'm really GNA miss everyone from our bus rides Oreo eating obstacles obstacle course making and more it's truly been an honor to be a part of this team for the past 3 years I dedicate my success to my coaches and teammates they've been with me every step of the way and didn't just make me a better gymnast but a better person I thank my coaches for pushing me to be the best person I can and for giving me an unforgettable High School gymnastics experience I thank my teammates for constantly picking me up and being my best friends lastly I thank all the supporters who have followed us and been there to support us along the way this was a fantastic season and I wouldn't have wanted my senior year to end any other way thank [Applause] you who's more okay on behalf of District 99 congratulations it was fun to come watch you all on the last day of competition and it was incredible to see everything that you had to offer so great work on a wonderful season it it was just great to see your talent out there um the I know you guys have been on the podium a lot so you're probably familiar but uh when we have state champions uh our both our Villages of Downers Grove and Woodridge uh get in on the celebrations as well so uh we have a couple from the village of Downers Grove uh recognitions and some some Hardware to hand out as well but some of the highlights in the stack that I have here for gymnastics include uh that from the village of down Grove uh their whole staff and including uh Bob Barnett the mayor uh are celebrating with you today and has declared uh tomorrow Tuesday March 4th as Downers Grove Gymnastics Team day in the Don Grove uh and has declared Wednesday March 5th in name of Genevie uh and she has her own day [Applause] uh I met today with the the with uh the staff from Woodridge and from Gina Cunningham the mayor we met with uh them today and they shared some celebrations with us as well and said to pass on their best and they have declared today as uh Community High School District 99 gymnastics team day and has declared today as well Genevie haran day did we get the team up here for a photo with the board coaches too come on guys move sides a little window so I can see your right come on take a all right parents if you want to come up and take photos you're welcome to I think we need Oreos to celebrate I know right I keep hearing about congratulations again up I I think with as many times as Oreo was said tonight oros needs to uh sponsor the team so put that down as a person to contact that's right that's right we'll send them the video yeah all right our H celebration um from South High continue so gymnastics is definitely a legacy at Downers Grove South in District 99 and so is our speech team and I just think it's so fun um that they tend to be in the same weekend so we have our two big Powerhouse programs who go and compete same weekend sometime same time um and it's just it is such a joy from my from from my end to be a part of it so our South speech team was stay runner up so Second and State very very close uh multiple uh first place we have two first place and a second place um and I'm just so so so proud of them love being a part of your season um with that I'm going to introduce coach Justin movich and he's going to talk about their successes from the season [Applause] hi everyone um so I I had this weird moment at the beginning of this season realizing that this was my 20th year being a part of dgs speech this a long time to be involved with anything specifically speech and I think the one thing that always kind of stands out to me is the the team aspect of it you know gymnastics speech team track sometimes we don't look at those as being like a team sport because there's so many individual accomplishments but it truly is something that is brought together with a team and I think our team this year um competitive success aside they were always there supporting each other and being there for each other at all aspects of competition helping each other out when they've had bad days supporting each other and propping each other up when they've had good days and being proud of each other so I am incredibly proud of what this team did this year um so let's say hi to all our teammates so um we have Madison beum we have Joe cone we have Abby Hein then we have Charlotte Clinton Jack mey Zoya sadiki then we have Julian Myers Jan was also fourth place in the state in extemporaneous speak then we have Juliana Kaner she was our state runner up in oratory in fourth place in impromptu um yeah yeah and then we have Sebastian Blanco he was our state champion in radio speaking and Carly blue Carly and Sebastian were our state champions in dramatic duet acting as well and of course the season isn't done we're getting ready for Nationals now and then we'll probably take a break till about June so we'll get about two months off of speech but it is a long season um could I please have um our seniors Sebastian and Juliana come up here to have a couple of words about our team okay okay hi um I'm Juliana so one thing that I've heard throughout all four years on the speech team is that speech dayss with you and when I was a freshman I kind of thought well this is just something I'm going to do in high school and then I'm going to go to college and I'm going to move on but that's not how it works you soon figure out speech really does stay with you um not only because of all the skills you learn in public speaking and writing but also in the relationships that you form and the bonds that you make those those are some of the most formidable moments in my high school career my relationships with my coaches my teammates and students from other teams I'm never going to forget uh competing alongside all of them and just learning from each and every one of them and they inspire me every single day to be better not only as a speech kid but as a person and it's just something that's so special and so it's I think it's the best part of this activity so um I hope that as we leave and move on to the next stage in our in our lives that will continue as the legacy of the Downers Grove South speech team just continues to grow uh yeah ditto um this team has been probably the biggest part of my life for the last four years um and it's going to be really sad leaving but um I mean I've spent hours every week with all of these people and um just just some of the best days of my life and I like she said I'll I'll stay with some of these people for the rest of my life and um I mean Mr movich has been probably the most influential figure in my life um so thank him and thank everyone for allowing us to do what we do J so I you know I I went to uh the ihsa website and saw how well gymnastics had done been on the podium all three of the past years and that was impressive and then I was like I think speech has been there a lot too so I went to the ihsa website and I I actually looked it up and it took a while to count it out and I had to double check but in the past 40 years the South High speech team has won first or second place 29 times wow that's what we call dominant folks all right uh also the village of Downer's Grove and Village of Woodridge would like to recognize our speech uh honor our speech team and individual uh finishers so I have here in this stack here some proclamations from the village of Downers Grove once again uh from mayor Barnett that recognize Thursday March 6th as Sebastian Blanco day in the build and has named Friday March 7th as a co- day for Sebastian Blanco and Carly blue the village of Woodridge is named today the following in the in the honor of the following as Sebastian Blanco day as Carly blue day is Juliana Kane day and the Downers Grove speech team day so congratulations coach we have the team Con on up and get some pictures please all right if any parents want to come up and take don't run away yet no no no so whenever we're outside social congratulations again get a lot of weird looks sorry sorry about that oh sorry oh yeah they were all right um the next portion of our celebration um we're going to be um celebrating some individual athletes who excelled in their sport um but first for girls tennis um we are recognizing tonight um Coach Josh Force who as you can see is ihsca coach of the year and I wanted to read an email um celebrating coach Forest um so that will say I get lots of emails as a principal and they're all wonderful uh but this one um this one is just some of those really really special emails that I get so it is actually written to coach Force but I was copied and it says coach Force let me be the first to congratulate you on your selection as an Illinois High School tennis coaches association girls 2A Regional coach of the year your efforts to better your student athletes and provide an environment to grow the sport of tennis in the state of Illinois has been recognized by your fellow coaches and the ihsca the ihsca will be recognizing you at a winter Workshop they gave me the date we celebrate um and I just wanted today to publicly thanks thanks coach Force for all the work you do so you can come join me here and as part of the celebration um worth girls tennis um we also are celebrating allate athlete Gabby David today and I'm going to have Coach Forest uh talk about Gabby a little bit and then Gabby will say a few words too didn't know um hi guys so um first of all this is 100% about Gabby um she has been such an amazing um leader and captain of our team for the last three years um I could give you a million different stats for and I will in a sec but I think the most important thing for Gabby is she is truly a student leader in our district um between tennis and everything outside of tennis that she does um she is always the first person to step up and and take on any committee or anything in our school um and then obviously she is one of those athletes where as a coach one of the things you look for is you hope for the opportunities to coach athletes that truly give everything to the sport um and that's Gabby um in her three years she's been a state qualifier all three years um she's been an all Allstate tennis player twice um in that time um she has nearly already eclipsed 100 wins in her three seasons um we haven't even had an athlete in Four Seasons it 100 wins in the past 10 years she almost did it in three and she did that while playing in the top singles position in arguably one of the most competitive areas of tennis that we have um she puts everything into the sport um and I think that that's been a huge part of our success as a program both obviously with her as a competitor and how she sets the tone for everyone else on the team um so I'm I'm incredibly proud of her um and I'm really ecstatic that we're doing something to honor these different athletes and um just so proud so yeah all right so I had nothing prepared today but you know I love this sport so it's kind of easy to talk about it um this team has been meant so much to me over these years honestly like High School tennis I was really contemplating even playing it because it's kind of an interesting Dynamic going from like individual USA like very competitive my whole life to like High School season which is definitely more laidback but it honestly has meant the world to me and taught me so many lessons in leadership and making me a better athlete and honestly as he said we're in one of the most competitive divisions so I'm not going to get any easy matches it's not going to be an easy season ever but I'm just so honored to be under such an incredible program and have such an incredible coach obviously he's won this award for a reason he is always my biggest supporter and always like making me so much more positive cuz I'll be honest I'm not the most positive person ont but he definitely helps out with that so I'm extremely grateful so thank you do a picture with every we'll just rotate we'll get everybody up and do pictures in a second tun let's just recognize everybody first all right next up I'd like to invite um head cheer coach Shannon Ley to come join me um we are celebrating um two um two All State athletes today as part of our cheer team Ivy and Jada and I'm going to let Shannon talk about them and celebrate them on behalf of the team yes fig out not hi I am thrilled um to be here talking about Ivy and Jada I honestly could not think of two better athletes um to represent the dgs cheer program they have been recognized for all of their amazing accomplishments and contributions um to the sport of cheerleading um in order to be nominated they needed to demonstrate a a variety of skills at the highest level of difficulty according to our ihsh year rubric um and they did that and so much more um and it is their talent and character that landed them two out of the 20 spots um to represent the large Varsity division on the All State team um and they did that out of 100 plus um nominations um so we could not be prouder of our two athletes and we are just thrilled um that we get them for another year on dgs cheerleading so congratulations [Applause] girls okay we were conferring that um our athletes just wanted to give a shout out to their coach instead of coming up to the mic um next up I'm going to ask Chris Hernandez headboy soccer coach to come join me we are celebrating Daniel um who is also an Allstate athlete um for for the coaches association come on up hello everybody um I had the pleasure of coaching Danny now for three years um in the boys program and uh we often talk about leadership in many different formats but there is something to be said about the silent leader silent leader that's the first one in the gym for offseason workouts the one that's pulling your teammates up if they're having a bad day the one that is taking the role of a captain and no matter hard times good times being the backbone of that team and that's Danny and uh like I said I've had the pleasure of working with him um over these three years you see a lot of growth growth in terms of maturity growth in terms of ability and growth in terms of being human being and with Danny this year kind of all came together and he was elected as one of the top five um all state players for our section in the State uh Danny has had a fantastic year ranking now in career points 10th all time with 74 points he's had 29 goals and 16 assists in his career both are top 10 stats for a program which has had some great success over the years collectively this season I know he doesn't like me talking about it but Danny this is the one time to kind of talk it up on the season he uh finished up with 14 go and 13 assists making him one of the most dynamic attacking players in Dage County recognized by teams throughout the entire State and obviously from the Illinois high school soccer coaches association where he was ranked as one of the top 20 attackers in the state so as a player as a human being as a teammate I'm incredibly proud of how Danny has culminated his high school career as a senior congratulations hello my name is Daniel I also didn't have anything prepared today I've been playing soccer ever since I could remember like it's honestly brought some of the most amazing memories and I could say without a doubt that these last four years have been some of the most special times of my life and I could honestly say that it wouldn't be possible without our amazing coaches and our staffs that have uh helped us throughout the our journey and pushed us along our [Applause] way all right um and finally girls volleyball and Coach um Madison bavage we have two ivca All State players um this was a phenomen Al phenomenal season um to be a part of all of us loved cheering with you and being there um every step of the way so I'm going to introduce coach bavage and she's gonna talk about Alex and Sylvia okay B hi everyone um so Alex and Sylvia have been our team captains Sylvia has been on Varsity for the last three years and Alex has been on Varsity all four years this was our first winning season record-wise in a while um in the 4 years I have been here they came in with me I like to call it the same class um and it's truly because of these two and the other two seniors that kind of bought into the culture change that I'm trying to bring to this program um we went into playoffs this year as the third seed um and we took down cross town Downers Grove North I like it but it feels good to say they were one seed and we beat them in a awesome thre set Victory which the girls and I will remember forever we were one game short to make it down to State um but finishing in the top eight everyone all the newspapers and people that interviewed me after games were just like how are they doing this how are you doing this you you weren't supposed to do this and we got hot in the end and these girls bought in um the entire team and with these two like I said buying into the understanding of we're trying to get back um to Our Roots with girls volleyball itself um definitely these two kind of put the team on their back and them and made the underclassman on the team um really truly believe in the process and the determination of what we're trying to do on the court and in the community just in volleyball the award that both of these girls received um there was a lot into it that they had a meet um their GPA for one so student athlete and then it goes down to how many kills they hold overall for all of girls volleyball in the state how many aces serving wise how many digs how many set assis um so there's a lot of individual records there's a lot of volleyball in the state of Illinois um a lot of teams have anywhere from 12 to 20 girls on the roster um so to have our school get to is also very rare for the award to happen um so they should be super proud so like I said congratulations if I could keep you and pay you some money for year in college I would don't say that in public but I can't just kidding yeah just kidding um but congratulations and like I said you guys should be proud and I hope it was a memorable season for you guys cuz I'll never forget [Applause] it all right hi I'm Alex I'm syvia and we weren't really told we had to make a speech so s with us um so yeah I've been on this team for the past three years and honestly having babage as my coach there's been a lot of good but also not the best because but it's honestly the best though because babage was the first person to actually push me past my limits and force me to see failure which I feel like I've never had a coach do that to me before making her one of the most influential like people in my life and also this program has shaped me so much into becoming a leader and becoming confident in myself and I really want to thank you and like all the players and all the people that have supported me including like my parents and every single coach that I've had in the past to leading me to where I am today and yeah that it's just something I'm very thankful to experience you have anything um so when we like started this season like if you told us we got like top eight in state I would have never believed you and I feel like I would have like kind of laughed but like we've like grown like a lot since like the start to like the end and I feel like we've bonded really well as a team and it's never been like that in previous years I feel like me and my the girls on the team have always we've never connected as much as we have this year and that definitely drove us to success and me and the coaches have always had a special bond like I'll never forget them um I can always rely on them for anything even if it's like outside of volleyball they'll always be there to help me and I'm very glad I was part of the season and I'm very proud of [Applause] us um I think that uh concludes our celebration we do want everyone um who is recogniz in tennis cheers soccer and volleyball to come up for a picture um and just on behalf of our whole school Community congratulations again to everyone I know [Music] [Applause] win a prize all right all right this is a public meeting you're all welcome to stay here for the rest of the evening but you know I understand if you have homework and stuff to do the excitement is yet to come while they're doing that North can get ready for yeah guys if you want to come in they're in the Throne of the crowd being pushed back we'll take a break here as they come in guys come on in perfect guys right up here ready yeah y okay wonderful um well thank you tonight um we are really excited to present student perspectives from North High Shannon made a comment that um I am dressed in South colors tonight but I didn't do that on purpose I did that to match our lovely Deca students as you can see um they came prepared tonight and I'm so excited for them to present about Deca um I often I can never remember what Deca stands for we talked about it before the meeting um it's distributive education clubs of America and so they're going to talk a little bit about um what they do and they compete and we're having a sendoff for them this week which is really exciting because they're going to state so I'm gonna call up Josh Kate Joey Russ and Nolan um to come on up and talk about Deca all right do you guys want the clicker or you want to just like say beep and I Advance it which one would you prefer we we take clicker you guys are experienced with clickers okay so my name is Russ I'm a senior at Downers Grove North I've been doing Deca all four years and this year I competed in a finance team event with my partner Nolan and then I'm also doing a written event at State my name is Nolan herder um I'm a senior as well I competed with Russ in a finance event and I also competed in a startup business plan with Russ and my name is Joey Sebert I'm a senior here at dgn as well I've been in Deca all four years and I compete in a marketing event with my partner montis pinus but he's not here my name is Kate Peterson and I'm a senior as well and I've been in Deca all four years and then as you heard before I compete in a entrepreneurship event with Russell and Nolan but I also compete in a single event in marketing he everyone my name is Yash gar I'm a junior uh I compete in the business finance series event now for a little bit about what Deca is um basically we do field trips throughout the year so we start off by doing a fall leadership event this is the first thing that we do in October with everyone in the club as long as they sign up we go out to lunch for at Portillos and then we also learn a lot about networking with other people and how to be professional then we have our competitions which start in January with a sectional event at sectional everyone's able to go they compete for a chance to make it to State and then there's also State and Nationals which Nationals we're hoping to all go there this year uh we'll see coming up here very soon as we have State this weekend so and displayed on the board are the different clusters in Deca so there's business management Finance Hospitality entrepreneurship and marketing and so what I mean by cluster is like it's basically an area of study or Focus for students in deca so like for me I'm focused on marketing my specific event is the sports and entertainment marketing team decision making basically there's like 10 15 specific events under each cluster and then you compete based on those clusters and I'll pass it off to Nolan to talk about competing so then once you select your cluster and your event that's when you go and do your actual role playay so these role plays are competed on at sectionals and state like Russ mentioned earlier so for these you to assume the role of a business person so for example if I'm in a marketing event then I might be the chief marketing officer of my business but long story short you're given a problem in every situation so this problem could be you have to make a new product for the business you might have to make a new marketing strategy but whatever it is whether you're by yourself or with a partner you are trying to solve that problem and the whole idea is you're pitching that to a judge who might be the executive at your company and the judge is judging you based off of number of things first of all is obviously your confidence and your energy I think that's the most important thing that Deca has taught me is if you have the best ID in the world but you just don't know how to say it it really doesn't mean anything um but along with that they also have a checklist of indicators that they're looking for so this could be as simple as did you mention your target market and other things like that that they're checking off to give you a final score so once they have this final score made together that is then combined with your multiple choice exam score so the the multiple choice test is worth 40% your actual role play is worth 60% and that's your final score that is given to compete with other students yeah so there's three main competitions that Russ talked about earlier so first is sectionals it's open to all members in our club and at sectionals it's usually in January the top 10 in each event qualify onto State at State as we mentioned earlier it's this Thursday Friday and Saturday so at State there's um lots of activities to do it's not just all competition there's um there's a going to be a hypnotist there's going to be um scavenger hunts and these two will be participating in a bags tournament which obviously they're going to win um so in order to qualify for Nationals we need to get top four in our event and uh Nationals this year is in Orlando Florida which is really cool because we get to go to Disney World and who doesn't love Disney and I'll pass it on to Kate who will talk to us about our members all right so just to hit on like a few of our accomplishments this year our biggest accomplishment in my opinion was a 134% increase a member increase this year from 2023 so last year to this year uh when I first started in Deca my freshman year I was actually the only freshman girl and now we have many there was also about only 30 kids in the club and now we have over 200 we're one of the biggest in the state actually which is very cool which puts me on to my next topic which is I connect which is basically kind of a networking um competition just with like Representatives so I was the representative for dgn this year um and there's many tasks you get a spreadsheet and there's a ton of tasks on it whether that's one of the tasks is like a membership increase but then it can also be a charity event a membership event a camp like any type of campaign there is I think like 200 things that you're able to do um and you get points for each of those which like obviously and then you get Awards based on how well you do this year was our first year ever in DJ and DEA history hitting gold um which was really cool and last year we hit silver for the first time in DJ and DEA history too so it's just up up and onward so gold is actually the highest which if you're wondering about the perks right cuz there's got to be perks we get um we all get different like stickers and ribbons at state but we also get Premier seating and then of course recognition um I'll end up getting an award for it so it's just overall great and cool and yeah all right um and then one way that we like to keep our members engaged after the regional sectional competition because obviously not everyone qualifies for state which is not the most fun for everyone but one way that we keep our members coming back is through guest speakers we have different business owners and maybe alum I from our area that come in and speak to us they talk a little bit about their career maybe they talk about how Deca has helped them um we had a guest speaker Vic meta in the other day he does real estate in our area and so he came to talk about he actually judged uh the sectional competition in a certain event and so he talked to us about tips for the state competition how to best prepare ourselves and also how to improve in the future wow okay so now we're going to talk about just how Deca has affected us um especally me Russ Nolan and Joey since we're seniors going into college soon and all of us are studying in the field of business um as for me it's definitely helped just like boost my resume period um it's great to say that I'm a vice president of this club and also my speaking and the way I talk to people the way I write even has helped me and I think in within Deca since dgn had so much room to grow I and my f my co- um presidents and vice presidents like we were able to build on DJ Anda which is great because now I get to say that I was a part of that and that is definitely something that I was able to put on when applying for college or just applying for a job um as for me I'm going to be studying business at the University of Illinois uh next year um when I was younger I always wanted to play basketball in college like whether that was at division 3 but whenever when I first joined Deca I figured that that was what I really wanted to do and business was something that I wanted to pursue so for me it's just given me like a a clear view of where I wanted to go with my life and what I wanted to study so it's been super helpful in that sense and then Deca for me it's really helped me meet new people like I joined the club freshman year didn't know anyone in it but then I met like these guys over here who were in it all since freshman year that got me to meet new people but then also even at the state competition I see people who are interested in business all over the state and it's really fun to meet them and network with them and it also helped me choose business to pursue in my future I was between engineering and business like the last year but then doing Deca really made me choose business to pursue um I'd say a couple things that it did for me one is that it gave me a mentor uh Mr Baka our adviser really helpful to me uh he showed me a lot of different options that I could go forward with with my career and different things to keep in mind and I would also say that it's always a conversation start uh DEC is an international Club so a lot of people know about it I actually just went on a college visit to Clemson and I was in their business school talking to one of their students and he was in Deca at Massachusetts uh he was the president of their state so it's just a quick connection with him connect with him on LinkedIn after and it's just it's easy to build connections through our club because of how widespread it is across the nation oh yeah so that's that thank you guys for listening we're happy to take any questions I have a question so following from your point is De just a is it high school like does it continue in college is there Deca in college so it's mainly High School uh there are Collegiate Deca clubs uh depending on the school some are starting it now more than others uh I know that Indiana has one I believe um out of the other schools I apply to Tennessee has one I'm not really sure how it works in college I don't know if it's the same thing or if it's different um but I know it's something that's at every High School okay cool no not every high school a lot of high schools not every high school has they have many high schools do have Deca but some have different uh forms of Business Clubs um Deca is the best probably the biggest not that you're biased not at all not at all you know you guys are so so impressive I mean just incredible and I'm sure you will all do well at college and in life have you all of you or any of you selected your schools and what are your if you haven't selected do you have top choices you're looking at yeah um I'm thinking the University of Illinois um there's a chance I go to Michigan those results come out later but all my family went to University of Illinois and I visited their business school earlier and I really liked it's so many good people there so I'll probably end up there great and then for me it's pretty much almost the exact same thing I'm also thinking about Illinois or Michigan if I get in as I wait on the decision but I also have a ton of family members there like cousins brothers sisters and my parents parents went there so great great mine's a little bit farther away my dream school is Tennessee the University of Tennessee and I actually find out tomorrow if I get in um and then I just got into the Kelly School of Business so that is my second choice great that's a good fall there absolutely um and then I'm thinking right now I'm leaning towards attending Clemson University next year uh visited there and really liked it so I'm excited great great um yeah so I'm still a junior so I got a year attending North High next year I got I got a year to think about it but um I'm definitely thinking about doing something in business particularly finance and either either if it's a major or a minor I'm I love business so best of luck to all of you thank you so much this world needs you I have u in my past life I as an activities director I was able to travel to one of these competitions at the national level it's so impressive and what you guys do is just it's so cool and you you have so many skills that you're developing um and it's just so neat to see the growth of this club and how excited these guys are and the the different things that they do and how impressively they dress and so it's it's really it's really really cool so um congratulations guys and thank you for being here thanks for for coming you two are also welcome to stick around to the remainder of the meeting but I understand it we don't know I know we're going to be brokenhearted I know we're the best thing in town [Music] tonight all right um student questions board members who wants to go first I can start this one off so it's been a little bit of a boring but productive month I mean obviously February I got all my thunder stolen right now um obviously speech ended up second in the state with a lot of individual success also trusting uh first in the state as Miss lip mentioned it perfectly powerhouses at dgs and it's just a super great time to celebrate um one thing I love about our school is that we do the send offs and I mean I think that those are really awesome getting to see all your peers cheer you on and being the peers to cheer on is just super amazing and it brings on the atmosphere also looking forward ahead um the April 13th is going to be key club's 12th annual Trot run so if you can attend please do whether you're in it or on the outsides and of course tennis cheers soccer and volleyball also having amazing success just in a celebratory mood and moving forward very good thanks Jon all right thank you hello everyone I hope you guys had a good February you know it's been again a little boring month but um still eventful uh we had the Scholastic art show that lasted through the first week of the month and the Evanson jazz festival that same week so both were very very successful um fast forward forwarding to the end of the month we had the spring play that was a big success from what I've heard um some things to look forward again we have the DECA State weekend coming up this weekend and so there's a lot of Buzz a lot of anticipation about that um and also this weekend is the or orchest production titled Bloom and there was a lot of work done around that and a lot of excitement around that as well um we have a spirit week coming up uh right before spring break and let's you know my anticipation for that is you know hoping for a sense of community to be strong because you know it's something that we discuss in the student advisory uh board committees and I hope you know it's something that we can improve on um you know how to create a tighter knit bond between students which will you know hopefully relief some general social issues that high schools normally have um other than that I hope to have more for you guys next time but yep that's all thank you anybody have any questions okay all right we'll move on um to uh Staffing progress is that uh you Dr the well it's actually Jeff's going to update you on what you're going to see our next meeting this is the preview of this big meeting where we talk about Staffing yeah so I think uh everybody was around last year for this meeting so um we'll be reviewing all the recommendations we have for Staffing for next year uh first section we'll be reviewing just kind of overall numbers for our FTE both uh our non-teaching uh FTE which is like social workers psychologists those types of positions that aren't directly tied to student requests uh and then our section FTE which are all the core classes and then those that are tied to student requests for various uh subjects and classes and so we'll be reviewing those numbers um then section two is on about student learning that'll be led by Gina and uh talking about the courses that maybe we've had to switch or perhaps cancel or or do some things again that's going to be driven by what our numbers are enrollment and also student requests and need uh then for our third section is the special education Staffing that'll be led by Scott of course and uh talk about any recommendations in terms of special education Staffing and in our CS department so aot some of those are a combination of uh the FTE as well as those uh nonsection FTE uh and then last but not least I guess for section four um I'll be presenting uh about our needs in terms of uh some of our non- teer non tenure teachers who will be uh uh you know non-renewing due to a lack of uh you know continue FTE so like we've done in the past our part-time staff we release those folks every year um some people seen reduction in FTE so they'll will be uh people that we honorably dismiss as well um and then also a lot of our 10 non- 10e teachers will also be retained due to uh the overall numbers and things as we're looking at how we're sectioning so yeah that'll be the general gist of everything any questions all right I do want to highlight I I did share with the board just a few things that did that came out as process of the or as part of the sectioning process which is uh enrollment at South is up slightly enrollment at North is down slightly so when you see the full Staffing picture you'll see a slight adjustment on either side of the Town um we have some increased needs at north side of town and uh psychologist support um what else did we add um there was another area oh uh multi- needs multi- needs yeah we had to we're expanding the multi- needs program at North as well adding an additional classroom uh which will uh provide a little bit more space but also provides the opportunity for us to bring back some students that are outplaced back to our home school so that's always something we're looking to do uh also uh South uh has seen uh an A change over the years uh mostly resulting of the hybrid block schedule in the fact that uh it used to be the majority of our nth graders took a study hall so they would take uh six academic courses in one study hall it is now 85% about 85% of our ninth graders are now taking seven academic courses so uh you know the support and opportuni students have during the day to get work done to go get help to do all of those things is leading far more ninth graders to take that extra academic course uh that first year which which is huge when you look at what opportunities come to them later in their High School career uh once they do that so uh that's impacting some of our uh sectioning as well so you'll see all that play out the numbers we give you over the next couple of weeks overall we're slightly up in FTE especially because of uh the multi- changes the increased enrollment at South and then the increased number of nth graders taking that extra academic course so uh more to come all right it's exciting to see more students because uh that's always a good thing and and I'll tell you the scope of our um academic offerings is is just incredible and you'll see that in the next presentation yeah I think we get uh students moving into the OR families moving into the district for a lot of those reasons so it's always a good thing so it keeps us on our toes because all right um our next item is um the administrative uh restructuring and I'm going to turn that back over to you Dr Fe yeah uh we have uh a recent resignation as well as we're anticipating uh Gina's retirement next year uh in order to get ready for these changes I'll bring you recommendations for some of the appointments in this at the next meeting but uh at the next meeting in order to make those appointments we need our board policies to come in line with the recommended changes I'm making so the first one will be uh Gina currently serves both as the kind of serves as the associate superintendent for student learning um but we're going to split the associate superintendent which is second in command in the district and responsible when I'm not available um to separate that from the assistant superintendent for student learning and so you'll see the assistant superintendent for student learning will be present Ed next week but will not go into effect until July 1st 2026 but that allows us to then separate out in 3.70 the associate superintendent position and succession of authority uh I'll bring you a recommendation for that on the 17th as well um then due to resignation uh we're going back to our traditional format uh that we had for decades in the district where uh we have an assistant superintendent for Human Resources so the person responsible for the the department is the human resources title and then we're going back to the format we had before with a director that's responsible for professional learning one of the things we're adding to that is uh compliance and complaints which currently sits with Gina with the assistant superintendent for student learning that's able to sit with Gina because she's superum but I don't anticipate the opportunity to hire another superhuman so we're going to split that off and add that with the professional development responsibilities with that director of Staff experiences so this is tonight the first reviewing for the board if there's anything in those policies you have questions about please reach out to me between now and the next board meeting as part of the consent agenda those will be present so that we can then take the personel actions that are associated or hopefully the board approves those personal actions that are associated with that um we'll also share with staff tomorrow that this is all in progress as well uh and we'll come to the board at the next board meeting so that there's no surprises on the staff so any questions in the policies themselves okay all right they'll be back uh in a couple of weeks okay uh the next item on the agenda is the DuPage West cook intergovernmental agreement yeah say that five times yeah fast all right so this is probably a group you've never heard of but we are part of uh it's been around for a very long time it's called the dup page West cook uh board and as you all know we're part of sassad which is a special ed Cooperative with other school districts in DuPage County where we form this Cooperative to efficiently and effectively offer uh special education services uh across the county uh to I think 18 member school districts um now that Cooperative is actually a member of other cooperatives that group of other cooperatives is Dage West cook so that allows us 92 member school districts so 92 individual school districts including us then share in determining like uh common rates for for services and offerings and those kinds of things uh that dwc group used to be a formal board like this but you could imagine representation for like 92 different boards and all of the different cooperatives is rather challenging so they're changing this to like an oversight committee different cooperatives in the dwc will have like the over the control of different things like hearing impairment one of the cooperatives will be heading up that piece and different needs will come from different cooperatives every one of the 92 member districts must approve this new resolution for this change to go into place so you effectively as a board don't feel this at all we even as a school district it's a a student here or a student there that is impacted by this but overall it allows for over the Chicago land area more effective offerings and services and cost for these services so over the next couple of months all 92 school districts that are in dwc will be asked to pass a similar resolution which allows this structural change in how that overall board works so it's a lot of moving parts to make this work but just as we made the change last year in sassad to make that group more effective to respond to today's needs this is a similar type of change those agreements have been shared with you so you can review them and then they'll come back on the 17th for Action so if after you read that you have further questions uh I can answer them over the next couple weeks or I'll save them all up and I'll present them on the 17th for everybody any questions tonight is really just why we're doing it so any questions on the why anybody all right this will be back on the 17th all right do we have any reception of visitors come down all right then um we're going to need a motion to uh go into close session for it's on I've got to read this please another sheet that summarizes it for you nobody said I had to read I'm kidding I next oh oh oh we got a script for you better sorry um it's for one the collective negotiating matters between the district and its employees or their representatives or their deliberations um concerning Sal salary schedules for one or more classes of employees and B the appointment and uh appointment employment compensation discipline performance or dismissal of a specific employees specific individuals who serve as independent contractors in a park recreational or educational setting or specific volunteers of the district or legal council for the district including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee a specific individual who serves as an independent contractor in a park recreational or educational setting or a volunteer of the district or against the legal councel for the district to determine its validity the only action the board will be taking when coming out of closed session is to adjourn I get a motion to go have a motion so moved second I believe Charelle made the motion Ken second oh ken thank you chel Fuller hi Ken Dawson Hi C Espinosa hi Cara Caston hi and Terry pich I thank you all right we'll be enclosed in here after short break and to work thank you everybody thanks

uh now I want to uh welcome Al righty good evening I will not take up too much space um as this is the efforts and the the hearts and the minds of our beautiful students um led by Miss Toya prior um our ssac along with some of our other student groups have come together and so I really want to make sure that we're creating the space and we're listening to them understand that everything that has come through to tonight these are the things that they've been working towards and I know that they'll share more so I won't steal their Thunder um but again I just want to thank Miss prior for her leadership Dr katti he's always uh supportive of SSC the equity and engagement team we just really appreciate all of you all for being here this evening so without further Ado hope and Cali r i mean r i just put your names together hope r hello oh there you go okay so again hello and welcome to speak and Spark um I'm so happy for all of you guys being here and I'm really grateful for everyone showing up um if you need a translator please step to the right and we will assist you shortly okay thank you so my name is Hope rier and I the student bard member for our iGo East High School and I'm cie Parnell I'm a junior at asigo and I'm a student board member so you might wonder what is our role as a student board member so both me and cie attend all sd308 board meetings which are all open session and they're all online you can watch them um we also ask questions we speak for students in our buildings for iGo and iGo East we advocate for our students and we also have productive conversations at all these board meetings and we prepare students and basically speak behalf of our students and essentially we're just a student adviser and we speak up for our students so to get started we wanted to do just a little Icebreaker so everyone's very comfortable with with each other and able to ask questions and participate so we'll get started soon oh we're get started now okay okay so the rules is we'll get into a group of three and four an image will pop up on the screen making out a word or an image and the first person to say allow we essentially win a point um for now we can just stay in our table so say hi to each other okay so a hym is don't stay limited to one thing pay attention to the spelling Lou pay attention to the spelling location symbols and shapes and possible answers can be phrases animals food or maybe just one word okay okay each table a team yeah so team team team team team team team team um they can just stand up and shout the answer out loud oh it is okay or first person to stand up would be better okay yeah okay sit down this next okay listen up real quick listen up real quick please please please please listen so this is an example so if anyone if anyone can take a guess you right here yes y yes so that's how the game works you basically take the words and try to figure out what the phrase is so I think the next one is the actual one yes going in circles correct going in circles so let's get started so three two one stand up do you have it yes yes so make sure if you have the answer you stand up immediately and then we're going to call in the first person we see yeah yeah if you have the answer stand up so yes [Music] yes I'm going stand over here okay next one you're almost there you're almost there keep going yes yes yes who said that yes okay next one yes next one another one no you're close you're close you're close yes okay whoever got it yes whoever got it first is this it last one I think there's more I think oh there we go wait what yeah yeah yeah the oh my goodness is this the last one let's check thank for playing thank you thank you holy wow that just like fun okay thank you everyone for participating that was really fun okay so going back what we've been working on SS AC is essentially building a plan to better our student teacher relationship from that we created an overview which is y Yar which is youth participatory action research which has five essential plans to make a strategic plan what we are working on right now is ident sorry what we have what we had work on right now is identifying what we need work on which hope we continue about later and what we're doing right now is collecting and analyzing data and making a plan that a better community in the future so that goes into our school Improvement plan which goes directly with our three foundational practices so our goal for both schools iGo and iGo East High School is by June 25 to have basically 85% of students have a student identify one or more trusted adults at either buildings and so what we've done to kind of figure out what is a trusted adult is we've collaborated with ssac to figure out how can we Define a trusted adult what goes into those characteristics what makes a student feel like they have someone that they can trust so what we've done with ssac is collect our ideas and basically come up with our um definition our trusted adult def definition which took a lot of time for us to do we had to refine it take out things put some things in and so this is what we came up with so if anyone is brave enough and would like to read this please use your hand you got it oh I'll come over someone who is generally in invest s in students growth and establishing a foundation of Mal mutual respect this adult actively seek by making themselves related relatable and a approach approachable ensuring that the student feels valid and ex valued and AC accepted they commute high expectations of Achi achievements guidance and accountability while maintaining a supportive non-judgmental environment that also that allows students to learn from mistakes this person listens deeply follows up and follows through and often helps advice above all they advocate for students on raving in their support and strive to be reliable present students on count give her give [Applause] up okay so from this discussion we and people from the ssac endlessly put in countless hours to help us build this from these seven topics we had Brave leaders come up and present them to you which we're going to be doing in about a few minutes so hope it's going to take when I say your name please please stand up and wave Sky [Music] Weaver Raj [Music] [Applause] Maro Carson Point Dexter joeli Sanchez Cali Parnell Maddie Collier and hope rier okay so from these tables so 40 table top topics we found might hurt it so these are table topics as follow phones and their impact on St student teachers relationships respect and communication and the impact students skipping certain classes and the impact on their success cultural and relational responsiveness and responsiveness and the impact on student teacher relationships censorship and the ability to be comfortable academics and the extracurricular and the impact and mental health and the impact on student teacher relationships so I'll give off our directions our topics are on the side so please choose three topics that interest you our topics are to the right and then write down great and necessary to take notes remember to listen to be respectful but to also give your honest feedback and your honest opinion that's very needed and we'll have 20 minutes at each table and then we'll rotate with a two-minute transition does anyone have any questions comments anything to say NOP perfect okay let's get started so get to your first topic of your choice and thank you just really quick everybody there is a two-minute timer once that two-minute timer ends that begins your round then I'll put the 20 minute timer on that begins the 20 minutes for your conversations so once the two-minute timer is is off then you can start e could I can't help you soon as this two minute thing is over I'm gon put it on back to the e e e everyone uh wrap up your final thoughts you have two minutes to move to your next table okay um we're just going to wrap up our final thoughts and then you have two minutes to move to your next table time to rotate guys go ahead and move to your next spot wrap up your final thoughts move to your next table topic go ahead and wrap up your final thoughts move to your next table topic you have about a minute and 45 more seconds before it's time to start the next topic or stretch if you're moving to the table right next to you wrap up your final thoughts wrap up your final thoughts we're going to move to our next table topic I have to do that I don't think everybody else could hear I don't know why I was looking and I was like nobody nobody's looking up here one wrap up your final thoughts we're going to move to our next table thank you e the 20 minute timer has started for your second table topic conversation timer has started for your second table topic conversation e e for

e e e all this mean to order Mandy recording secretary please take R call aif here Fulk pres Corman here papis here OPI pil here all right speaking of vuli um I'd like a motion second or required to allow member Jennifer Bui to join the meeting prely per board policy 222 as she is traveling for work some second a yes Fulk yes Gorman yes papus yes pil yes so oh all right Jennifer we heard you so we know you're there hear oh we can thank you yes request a motion in second to approve the agenda so Mo second Fulk yes Corman yes papis yes Bui yes aif yes pil yes motion is carried let's please stand for the pledge of allegiance of the United States of America and to the rep for it stands one nation under indivisible with liy and justice for all all right thank you all for coming out today and for those of you that are at home um before we start though I would like to make a statement a brief statement I I'll start the timer myself um I'll keep it short and then after the statement what I'll do is I'll um introduce our two co-s superintendent enterings all right just want to provide some background on the selection process of the two um inter rooms following the board's approval of the mutual departure of our former superintendent we immediately began the search for our interim replacement the Illinois Association of school boards I B presented several candidates and former board president Dr Nolan asked Morgan and I to represent the board in conducting the initial interviews after a brief screening we selected three candidates for further evaluation to ensure a well-rounded selection process we conducted panel interviews with district office staff Administration the C President and Vice President and the best president on February 10th and 11th I sincerely appreciate the time and effort of those who participated in those discussions the panel's Insight along with candidate responses were shared with the entire board and discussed at last Wednesday's special meeting some have asked why Dr how could not continue as interim superintendent since the former superintendent's departure he has been balancing both the in interim superintendent role and his responsibilities as Director of Human Resources it's an immen immense challenge the board recognized the import an of strong leadership at all levels and to ensure stability We Believe appointed an interim superintendent fully dedicated to the role is in the district's best interest Dr how served with unwavering commitment and we sincerely appreciate your dedication on February 26 the Board of Education approved the hiring of Dr Griff Powell and Dr Kyle Schumacher as interim co- superintendent we understand that the leadership transitions bring challenges and this decision was made with the utmost care for the future of our district our role as a board is to recognize when changes are necessary and to forge a better path forward for our students Educators staff and administration finding the right interim leadership was not an easy task we sought experienced professionals who could provide stability address challenges offer fresh insights and most importantly help heal and unify our district Dr pal and Dr Schumacher both retired superintendents come with highly recommended and highly recommend and bring a wealth of expertise due to State teacher retirement service postretirement limits retired superintendent can work a maximum of 120 days per year without affecting their pensions to ensure full-time leadership coverage districts often appoint two interim superintendents who share the responsibilities in our case Dr pal will work on Mondays and Wednesdays Dr sh will work on Tuesday and Thursdays and they will alternate Fridays this structure ensures continuous leadership without additional financial burden to provide stability as the new board searches for its permanent in superintendent Dr pal and Dr Schumacher will serve through June of 2026 this timeline allows for a thorough collaborative search process involving input from Educators staff administrators and the broader 301 Community finding the right leader for our district will be a collective effort and your voices will be essential in shaping the future of our schools please note if for some reason the new board finds that Dr pal and Dr Schumacher are not a fit for the district there is a 30-day notice clause in the contract at which point we could mutually part ways we look forward to working together and during this transition appreciate the district's continued support and without further Ado we're going to start with you Dr Dr pal go ahead and introduce yourself I've been in education for half a century uh i' I've been a superintendent for over 30 30 years I did 12 interim superintendencies where I walk in situations similar to this with smaller districts I I go without a partner uh when larger districts of this size are larger we I would work with a partner why do we do it every other day for the sake of synergism if if in fact we de Ed a week on a week off or a month on a month off what goes on in schools in one week is enormous amount of issues that pop up and the only way you deal with that on a daily basis is you are fully aware of all everything going on dayto day and every from Monday to Tuesday there's a lot of things going on and be when when I finish on a Monday my hand off to skyle will be uh so seamless that everything that's brought up on Monday he will be fully aware of when he walks it on Tuesday when I talk about synergism sum of the whole is greater than the part and greater than the sum well that's exactly what you're going to get you're going to get two brains working on the same issues and problem solving one of the biggest biggest issues uh that the superintendent somebody somebody's asked me what do you do for a living I said and when I rather getting into the superintendency I'm a Problem Solver one of the problems I can just I'll tell you a little bit that was scream I don't want to take too much time uh was a I was a superintendent of Highwood Highland Park District 111 which now doesn't exist and what happened there is we we had for cheridan we had Highwood if you know where that is is right on the lake and we also had the northern part of Highland Park the district was going broke because we had 500 military children coming off the fort non- taxable land we had them coming into the district with at the same time we were getting $1900 from the federal government and we were spending 10,000 and we could not spread that cost off to other taxpayers so I had a congressman that was uh very powerful Republican con Congressman named John Porter he had Glen viw Naval Air Base he had the Great Lakes Naval Air Base and he also had for cheran so he had a lot of power in Congress so I said well I'm going to get more money for these kids that's it's just that simple how could how could they do this to to these military families he got me a meeting in the Pentagon with Cheney he was Secretary of Defense at the time and I was Don keyote saying you're not going to send those those their parents over in harms way in the Middle East and you're not going to give me the money to educate their kids and I was just it was insane to me why that was not the case well he was sort of in between heart attacks and he sort of put up with me and as I was walking out of the Pentagon the congressman put his arm around he said here's the political truth there's not enough military bases in Congressional backyards so when it comes to a vote they don't nobody cares and that was shocking to me as a a young administrator thinking that everybody has a the intent the right intent for children well I came back home and what I ended up doing is consolidating three Districts The District called Northshore District 112 is the district I Consolidated but to to campaign for it I literally had had to say because I didn't want to be seen as getting this fat cast superintendency uh once the referendum was over I said well I'll leave town if if that and I was so successful I left town I ended up in New York for five years so and I I give you that story because to me you've got a lot of problems and we're going to do everything we can in the next 16 months to resolve as many problems as we can and in in a very positive way and hopefully bring people together and and not get create any kind of division within the community uh the board has been I think very uh fiscally conservative uh what what we're paid is going to be Less in total than you would have if you had a permanent superintendent in place when I told the board president I said tell me the total package of the outgoing superintendent and it's going to be even more for a new incoming superintendent and we're going to take less money than that so they're going to save money the money they're going to save they're going to use uh to use that money to hire a new superintendent through either search firm or the Illinois School Board Association those are the two choices unless you want to do it alone I wouldn't recommend it uh but that's another option so to to me the the board is doing what other boards have done uh buying some time the pool of candidates in the fall is a lot deeper and and you'll get a lot better candidates than if you do it in March April May most districts that are be the superintendents who are very successful and are very comfortable in their position don't want to really walk out that early they want to give us a proper notice to their their boards most likely if this board does goes down the path they're headed they will the the in the fall you'll have focus groups you will tell the board what you're looking for the community is looking for in the superintendent and and once you get that that data from the focus groups the board will ask the whether if it's a search firm or a Schoolboard Association to take that information and give them some candidates they'll probably my guess is in a district like this you probably get 60 to 80 candidates if it's a nationwide search and from that you you'll get down to 5 to 10 candidates that the Bo will receive they're going to be working their head off during the fall they're going to be interviewing all these folks they once they get the their finalist down to two or three those people will meet the community you'll have your your take a shot at them and and be able to give feedback to the board about what kind of uh person that you want uh part of their their job will be then to do a site visit which is uh taking time out of their own personal lives to and and the inter superintendant are not part of this Pro process the the search process our job is to run the district and and support our our our staff and give them all the resources necessary to do the job for Kids Day dayto Day and make make sure they stay focused on the most important decision they ever make and that's the hiring of a superintendent because if they make a mistake the whole Community loses and a lot of Staff members would weave here if they may make the right decision some of the dreams that you have for this district will come true so to me I'm happy to help uh what what the board president just mentioned uh if the new board comes on and they feel that we're not helping the situation no problem you have a a clause in the contract which was appropriate for It's actually an all interim contracts yes so to me uh they we have a commitment here but at the same time the board could actually change that at any time so if the new board wants to make a change so be it so we're ready to do it but we're going to do everything we can uh to to support the staff and and do what we can for children during the T time the board is focusing on their biggest decision but that's C what you got say good night good night good night there you go uh Kyle Schumacher I have um have been a superintendent for 12 years uh few less than than Griff this is actually my first interim um I'm excited to work with Griff he has he's obviously has had experience doing this I've had experience being a superintendent and I think that will'll be a good team uh in working on this he's got much more exciting engaging stories about amazing things that he has done I enjoyed skiing and lived at a ski resort while I was superintendent in tell you ride for four years that's like the exciting part that I did um we're here to help we're here to provide perhaps a fresh look at things just as as sort of Outsiders who are here to um really help both the board um as well as the district office staff and the administration um through these next these next 16 mon months during this process and I we were at three different schools today this uh rocket Hill I think it's called is that the term Central Hill today so I got to see some of the schools and we're very excited uh graciously welcomed by them and as well as the the staff here at the district office but excited for what's happening I loved walking into the schools um just seeing the enthusiasm of the teachers and uh and all the conversations they were having as well as meeting the administrators there so thank you for this opportunity and we look forward to working further and had a real pleasant surprise today my student from when I was a principal of Stevenson High School Mark was one of my students I remember his sister because his sister was smarter than him but oh oh I'm sorry no we we actually lived we lived within a block apart correct Park he knows he knows exactly where my house was now I don't hold that against me I know now I know who put that paint on my my my walls true stories one of my students all right is that good for intros all right with that we'll go into public comment Sher thank you you're welcome I would like to begin my name is Sher musel I'm a fourth grade teacher at hbt mentary and um I'd like to begin by thanking the board for allowing me this opportunity to provide perspective with regard to upcoming policy decisions facing the board there seems to be a general feeling among the stakeholders in our schools that's the taxpayers parents teachers students that some policy decisions concerning the schools have been made without provision for input from the group's most affected by these policy changes no organization benefits in this type of atmosphere I am a taxpayer in the district I'm a parent I'm a teacher and I feel like a student sometimes and I know that all of the people involved with schools in District 301 are very optimistic that we are at a point of change on this issue we are all so very hopeful I'm going to limit my own statement tonight to a proposal that was presented to elementary schools concerning the reimplementation of an accelerated gifted program in the district I taught in the previous program in our district at Lily Lake Elementary a program that I feel was successful for many reasons but was ultimately cut out of the curriculum about a decade ago because of concerns of cost called The Challenge program this initiative itive was implemented by then gifted coordinator Lori heisy who still teaches in the district and District curriculum coordinator Nancy hayhurst with Cooperative input from participants at the local school level those participants had a positive impression of working with the district to establish and maintain the program in many ways I felt the challenge program was a success because it was done at the building level and within a learning community in their own schools with their own classmates their own classmate groups and buildings with their own physical communities and close to their own educational home it was an effective program for elementary Learners with effective support in order to be successful and accepted by the stakeholders I have learned that a program like this has to be carefully integrated into a system with the help of people who understand how important communication is at every touch point along the way there are sensitive issues with a program like this for students parents teachers and administrators that must be addressed cooperatively as we approach this policy issue it appears that we are now at the point where we can reinstate that kind of Cooperative thinking in a more practical sense and from a classroom teacher perspective I certainly understand the value of a program that provides services to students have who have displayed academic talents beyond their assigned grade level it is a worthwhile investment for the district no matter the impetus for the policy proposal any program needs to be carefully constructed though and professionally integrated with the Cooper ation of all stakeholders if it is to be successful and I feel that the Educators have not been part of that but also from the perspective of a classroom teacher in the year 2025 this type of policy initiative needs to be Sensi sensitive to the needs for balance in support of all students in my classroom it has been well documented that teachers are very concerned about the students who may not qualify for special education of some kind but are still identifiable as deficient in important academic skills hey Sher I have to cut you off but we're over time okay um just real quick then I'll go to my last paragraph before we approve a gifted accelerated program we should as a team analyze what the best approach really is for student students academic and emotional growth and for students in dire need of math intervention and also let's not forget being fiscally responsible and include Educators in these decisions okay thank you thank you m Man U thank you there a couple things I wanted to address here but first I was very impressed with the uh the two things two new superintendents coming in I liked what you had to say and I'm by the way the township supervisor so when you talk about um tax uh unfunded or taxes that don't pay taxes we've got a lot of force preserve got the same issues so that's the position I come from but what I wanted to talk about was watching the uh Forum that was on the other day that you had for the uh women's league of women's voters or whatever and there were two ite there were a lot of items I'd like to go through but there was two items in particular that I thought I addressed today um one board member was vly opposed to more parking and uh that's a real problem you know we just had one of those blue light alarms the Blue Light Special went off and the traffic congestion on Plank Road Plato Road was absolutely terrible Emergency Equipment was at one end at the other end which should have been by the school you need the parking area to be a staging area what we did with this school is we we put a Fieldhouse on a parking lot and didn't put any parking when we actually have a need for more parking not less parking but more importantly during an emergency situation this was a horrific event we had cars coming in picking up their kids it was a total traffic jam up there we couldn't get our trucks in from the back roads for 15 minutes and parking is part of that problem okay and number two I wanted to address Mr fif on the um Equity statement over there I'm Viet opposed to equity versus equality and there's a big difference sir you were a coach you certainly didn't teach your students to tie you taught your your your uh athletes to win and that's a tie would be equivalent to equity but equal opportunities they all had the equal opportunity to compete and that's what I think we should be teaching here at uh 301 is the opportunity to compete the opportunity to succeed and the opportunity to fail if you have the opportunity to fail a lot of success comes from that as well so I'm vly opposed to uh the word Equity as opposed to equal opportunity and there's a big difference and I don't think we should have that in our schools um I don't believe the schools here to raise our children they're here to Simply teach our children teachers should teach uh raising stud students is up to the parents and sometimes I think we cross that line I've seen that done so my interest of course is going to be uh from the township level we have a better school it's certainly much better for the taxpayer not only on what the taxpayer pays but property values and the moving here um I think that's I'm looking at the clock over here I don't have much time so I'll go all right thank you thank you all right Dave Chapman good evening uh on behalf of CA I wanted to congratulate and welcome Dr Schumacher and Dr Powell to District 301 and with your roles as our interm superintendant we look forward to working with you for the next 16ish months um and also appreciate you guys taking time uh to come to the schools this uh during the mornings this week so I think it's great for the staff to be able to to get to know you and to ask you questions as well so thank you and then I want to thank the board as well for your collaborative approach when it came to the interview process I think given such a big decision was very appreciative to have CA involved in that so thank you very much thank you Miss Jean Meyer my printer would not work and this is very small Jean Meyer resident my Christian world view says that there is truth and truth matters three issues have come up recently which makes it appear as if this school district has had administrators and or board members who have set a presidence to silence the public and the board every board member needs to know the truth about these issues and share them the truth with the public number one last board meeting you all eagerly discussed having robust conversations with the public be it at the grocery store or the sports field or a planned forum for public questions and answers yet a few months ago at a board meeting um Dr Nolan now resigned was described by onlookers as nearly lunging over the board table at Plato Township supervisor Mike McMahon as a nurse I would have put in my notes gosh I'm shaking appeared agitated repeated in an accusatory voice with anguish he tried to talk to me at my kids ball game more than once I wondered what was the matter at the time it seemed kind of unusual behavior but now it comes to light that this board was held hostage to some long held standard that you cannot engage the public about school matters in daily life is this a law a board preference or a board member or administrator trying to keep the board under their control and the public in the dark number two two board members have said to the public that they were instructed not to reply to emails from the public is this a law a local board policy dangerous ideation promoted by an administrator or a long-term board member to keep the public in the dark number three Dr mongan said it was acceptable for her to look at board members emails when she felt it was justified our attorney board member Mr aif said he thought it would first require and I'm not sure the term a subpoena that was last month he said that and then later at the candidate Forum this past week he said that he thought it would least require a foia is this a state law that she could go through emails a local school policy or a dangerous ideation promoted by an administrator or a long-term board member to keep board members on under their thumb I think that when there is a question of right or wrong or um truth or falsehood or just a mistake that each individual board member when they see that should question it and they shouldn't wait until there's a majority that are with them one should be able to stand alone and um it seems to me these issues have been active since before Dr mongan probably became supervisor so um we have a chance now at a new beginning and after the election again A New Beginning let's keep truth transparency and educating our young people as our primary objective thank you and Welcome to our co-s superintendence thank you thank you Jean Ginger Romano hi there um I'm Virginia Romano I'm a resident taxpayer uh Burlington Township um kind of a yeah I kind of the tax thing is my my big thing so anyway um I just had a couple things I was I was looking at the um the resolutions on policy on the policy uh changing the language on some of the things whether I don't know if that was if it's actually I really didn't take the chance to to go over and look at it really well and do my proper research but um so I don't know if it's changes of wording in state law or if it was just you know kind of changing words for our own school policy but there was one particular resolution that kind of I didn't quite understand because the two words have totally different meanings and it was changing the word shall to is so shall and is are very different and I have a the dictionary here to do that but I don't I don't think I'm going to go over the difference because I don't know I'm might be a little trivial but anyway um that's all I wanted to say pretty much and I'm I'm really looking forward to the um the the two interim superintendents and and hopeful and looking forward to positive change for the district and also on a positive note um I did attend the um the culture blast and I was very pleasantly surprised and it was very kind of cool to see um all the different countries represented and the work the students put into you know describing the different countries and stuff like that it was it was really kind of neat so thank you thank you Ginger thank you uh PK uh good evening my name is PK Park uh thank you Dr hog for taking on additional responsibilities for the past several weeks and uh Welcome to our two new superintendents um uh as the board knows uh I've spoken uh before on a few different occasions about our Excel replacement program the proposed new program of the policy and uh and the program design process uh and you have my comments in in writing um uh those comments are I think directionally consistent with what uh miss m will shared in terms of what you would like to see from a from a design process um what I wanted to spend my three minutes on since you already have all that um in your hands uh was just to suggest uh a few items to move from today's consent agenda uh to uh the later part of the meeting where you can discuss them and consider them individually so I'll just cover a few of those and and why I think you should consider them individually all right uh and these Rel to the board board policies uh either reviewed by the board or by the board policy committee uh the first thing is that um it's a general question that pertains to uh various policies such as 2270 510 520 710 I might have missed one or two um that have some sort of provision for someone to submit uh a complaint to complaint about discrimination and harassment or some such thing equal equal opportunity uh the these policies refer to all of those complaints being handled by a complaint manager um who is a district employee and so the concern I think you should discuss is that if the complaint if the nature of the complaint is a complaint about an administrator in the district such as a superintendent or assistant superintendent or other person in position of authority it seems like the complaint manager who is an employee of such people would not be an independent person to perform the investigation into the complaint some of the policies contain a provision that the report of the complaint manager would be provided directly to the board there's only a few I think one example where that would occur um but the investigation itself even that example will be conducted by an employee of the person who the complaint is about and so I think that represents a conflict and um and so you could provide a provision for either an independent investigator or somehow handling the point of Independence in an investigation the second thing is uh in policy 2270 which is about discrimination uh and harassment on the basis of race color and national origin um I believe the revisions here are intended to conform to the recent changes uh or adopted by um uh new law in Illinois uh the Illinois Human Rights Act uh and they're consistent generally with um article 5A which is a section on Elementary secondaryan higher education however um they seem to omit the provisions under the seeding section Article 5 uh about public accommodations which also apply to a variety of Institutions including institutions of higher education including schools uh and so some of the um prohibited bases for discrimination while covered a little bit under the policy and equal uh employ equal opportunity um they don't seem to be fully covered in 2270 uh about non-discrimination PK will have to wrap it up okay um and then and then third uh on the acceler placement program policy uh there's language uh that's revised from meets or exceeds to just exceeds that is consistent with one of the sections in what I believe is the most recent updated version of the Exel placement act however U by striking meets and not adding another section about the meets provision you've omitted an important paragraph that comes immediately after the exuse paragraph which says that anyone who meets the standards for match uh science or reading uh is automatically eligible not automatically enroll but automatically eligible for uh acceler placement and so it's an important Omission in that policy there are a few other technical problems with the way it's phrased as well but since there isn't time I just thought you should um consider that separately and have a discussion as to whether it's actually conforming to the uh language and intent of the law thank you thank you that was it okay the next item on the agenda is selecting a replacement for Eric Nolan's remaining two-year seat the board received resumés from several members of the community we conducted interviews last week and will'll be voting on an appointment this evening as the time at this time I will open the floor for a motion second for an appointment I would like to make a motion to appoint Ryan wson I'll second that motion a motion to appoint Ryan Watson has been made and second in is there any discussion yeah to me it seems inappropriate I don't know Ryan at all but it seems inappropriate to appoint someone who was endorsed by the cea um I mean it's a conflict of interest for our taxpayers it seems um so and I have concerns as a taxpayer regarding that um I just think it's a little odd um I mean I understand why you want them I think you want them on the negotiations team um with Morgan because you guys might not be win the election so you want people who are here for longer than just a couple of months to start that um I think the whole process that you interviewed candidates was a little skewed also so I'm not sure I don't even think you all I couldn't make the one day that you put out there for interviews and I don't even think you all interviewed all of the candidates is that correct we split go ahead go ahead we split them up so there were nine candidates and in order for us to basically interview all nine we would have been here probably till midnight so what we did is we basically took chunks each of us you know it was Jennifer and myself there was Morgan um Jay and Mark took and we literally spit up and we took you know the different interviews in different rooms we recorded them and then we came back into Clos session and re reviewed them as a whole um and had conversation it was the most effective way not only to give everyone the opportunity to interview I know the last time we interviewed um for the spot that General vulpi has uh we actually didn't interview everybody right we chose certain ones to interview or at least this way we felt we want to give everybody the opportunity to interview so that's why we did it in that way well we we didn't choose not to interview everybody I think it was based on where they lived in the district because we had slots that were full we had other but we had other when we were looking at there were other criteria though like right we looked at different criteria and then that weeded some of the list down um and then we ended up with the folks that we had but I mean it wasn't like just based on boundaries and townships so seeing I wasn't there and you didn't fill me in on your choice I guess for your motion what are the qualifications of Ryan Watson what exceed what qualifications exceed the other applicants just so I know just because so I can vote you know AB absolutely so one of the reasons I'd like to uh well the reasons I'd like to appoint Ryan is because he is dedicated to the community um and he prioritizes the future and the well-being of children in the district uh as a father of three Elementary age children within the district he has a strong personal investment in the success of our schools Ryan actively serves our community by coaching Youth Sports including baseball football and rugby he demonstrating his uh commitment to supporting and mentoring our students beyond the classroom additionally he experiences as a board trustee for the village of Burlington has provided with him valuable insight into the board governance and board decision making process uh his candidacy for the Schoolboard position for me in the upcoming election further reflects his dedication and commitment to our community and serving our community so I have a different view on that than you um and I believe Ryan's leadership Community involvement and firsthand perspective as a parent makes them a strong choice for this role I'm glad you prepared that that's very informational um do can I can I speak to this so I don't think that there is any conflict of interest to consider somebody who is running for this position I absolutely find it absurd to think that somebody who is endorsed by the teachers union would have a conflict of interest in serving on the school board the ca has a constitutional right to exist and advocate for the interest of the teachers and one of those uh elements to that right is the ability to pick candidates for the school board that they think are going to protect their right to organize and to collectively bargain and this is me speaking as somebody who wasn't endorsed by the cea so um uh I don't have a a horse in the race in that sense uh I still think it's absolutely appropriate for uh a person who is endorsed by the ca to sit on this board now we interviewed this group of individuals many of whom are in the audience here today and I I would say my personal view it was an outst standing group of people and uh we would be lucky to have all of you serve on this board we had to pick one person and we interviewed you all we came back into the room we discussed it amongst ourselves as we do many issues and we narrowed it down to a small group of people that we thought should be considered but knowing that ultimately the full whole board has to make that decision we said let's make sure that we invite everybody to come in because we don't know how this is going to turn out if Ryan or any of the people who are running were to be selected all that would do is put us in a situation where if they win they take their four-year spot and then a two spot opens up again two months later and some might say oh what a waste of time you guys spent four hours sitting in that boardroom deliberating over something and now you got to do it again and I say and this is my personal view speaking to the board and to the community what a great opportunity because now we had what nine candidates we picked one eight more candidates that could have taken that spot now are on a short list and I would expect that they would all put in if that scenario comes to pass and what a great opportunity for this community to be able to then consider those eight individuals that we already met and any others that want to put in and then we select another great candidate to fill that two-year vacancy and what we've done is fulfill Our obligation to the community to put good people on the board when a vacancy occurs and that's the thought process here so the fact that somebody is running the fact that somebody is endorsed by the teachers union none of those are negative factors and in fact the fact that somebody is running in my calculus personal only is a plus and why is it a plus because somebody who is willing to run has shown that they have the commitment to actually you know put themselves out there because it's a two-year appointment two years is the amount of time that you take to just get up and running in a position like this I would want somebody who takes that two-year spot to be the kind of person that says yes if I get this appointment I'm going to take it I'm gonna work hard and then when 2027 comes around I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring to go another four years and so picking somebody who is already in the race tells me they already have that commitment so if they lose I know that they will reup in 2027 so that's the the thought process that I'm bringing to this yeah I had no way said that the ca should not endorse people I understand that so I mean that's not what I was saying at all um I respect most of our teachers you know but I just think it's it's a little weird that you know Ryan was seen having drinks with the lead Chief negotiator the ca so to me that just seems again that's what raises a little red flag you know um we are going into negotiations you guys have already said you don't want me on the negotiations team there's no one left on the board that is not up for re-election so who would be on there Morgan and you need a second person so again I go back to that of this is very convenient to have Ryan join because no matter what he's on for at least two years so Jeff I I don't think that having a drink with a school teacher who happens to also represent the teachers in the Union is a disqualifying Factor it definitely doesn't impune his character and that's and what you're saying if you say that it calls their credibility or the cred into into question if they're going to come in as administrations representatives in the negotiations well if that is the case and you're saying that's not good what you're saying is you can't count on him to have the interest of the administration at heart and to me at least that is imputing his character and I've seen nothing about any of the people uh that that applied for this that would tell me that they would not treat their responsibilities with the utmost care and fiduciary duty I haven't seen it yeah I don't know I don't know his character I don't know him I didn't interview him so you know I'm hoping you're right you I just wanted the taxpayers to know that that's out there I mean again I think it's a little odd so that's I was just raing mention that I didn't think that splitting the rooms was appropriate Jeff I I personally didn't like that because I only got to see half the candidates and you know I was a big eye roll behind you MK I'm sorry there was a big eye roll behind you yeah yeah go ahead finish it and I'll explain it so I mean I only got to see half the candidates so I I brought it up that I thought we should you know you know let the people that were applying um be non valed people and I was out voted so yes we covered this issue and I'm glad you brought it up so I can cover it with everybody else too the fact that we split it up into two groups is neither here nor there when we do the union negotiations we have two board members out of seven who sit through meeting after meeting after meeting and then report back to us the biggest dollars in our budget only two out of seven and then they come back and Report because why there's a there is supposed to be the sense of trust amongst the board that hey if two people go in and do this negotiation and come back and report to us that we're going to trust what they say now I guess you're saying I didn't interview that person so I actually don't trust that that was what you're reporting back is accurate or not that's your right to say that I I'm not finished I'm not finished I'm finished I want the opportunity Mark why don't you let me finish I'll let you finish and then I'll talk absolutely that's that's how we're supposed to do it so can you stop talking thank you so when see this is this is the kind of absurdity that we have to deal with with with this gentleman right here wow you why don't you stop talking when it's not your turn and why don't you quit insulting Jay you are the one that's being insulting all right bring it back wow wow yeah wow is right so there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing the things that we did in terms of splitting the room up creating that as an issue here is a red herring and it's meant to instigate this type of animosity amongst the board which is absolutely I agree not necessary but just remember where it's coming from Jay the point I was making is it would have been nice to interview all the candidates that's the point I'm making that's it that's all I'm saying Jay any more discussion M please take a roll call vote Gorman no papus yes bupy yes aif yes Hulk no Hil yes congratulations Ryan motion is carried congratulations um at this point we'll have Ryan Watson step forward and take the oath of office and you'll sit over here next to Mandy and then we'll just have you come right over here and then you'll read that for us ran congratulations thank you so much thank you congratulations and I'll take the oath of office by reading that out to all of us I Ryan wson do solemnly swear that I will Faithfully discharge the duties of the office of member of the Board of Education of Central Community Unit School District 301 in accordance with the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the state of Illinois and the laws of the state of Illinois to the best of my ability I further swear that I shall respect taxpayer interests by serving as a faithful protector of the school district's assets I shall encourage and respect the free expression of opinion by my fellow board members and others who seek a hearing before the board while respecting the privacy of students and employees I shall recognize that a board member has no legal Authority as an individual and that decisions can be made only by a majority vote at a school board meeting I shall abide by majority decisions of the board while retaining the right to seek changes in such decisions through ethical and constructive channels as a part of the Board of Education I shall accept the responsibility for my role in the Equitable and quality education of every student in the school district I shall Foster with the board extensive participation of the community formulate goals Define outcomes and set the course for Central Community Unit School District 301 I shall assist in establishing a structure and an environment designed to ensure all students have the opportunity to attain their maximum potential through a sound organizational framework I shall strive to ensure a continuous assessment of student achievement and all conditions affecting the education of our children in compliance with state law excuse me I Shall Serve as education's key Advocate on behalf of students and our community schools to advance the vision for Central Community Unit School District 301 and I shall strive to work together with the district super intendent to lead the school district toward fulfilling the vision the board has created fostering Excellence for every student in the areas of academic skills knowledge citizens citizenship and personal development thank you [Applause] [Laughter] all right I need a motion on second or required to elect a vice president so mooved second all right nomination are now in order for the office of Vice President I like to nominate Ryan wson I'll second Ryan won is nominated are there any others I'd like to nominate Morgan you can second it I'll second okay all right um all in favor of Ryan mson to serve as vice president please raise your hand okay two votes what's that yeah two yeah two vot Jennifer did you raise your hand oh Jennifer is your hand raised no I can little we can't see it we can't see you okay all in favor of um Morgan papis to serve as vice president please raise your hand the hand racing I heard it I didn't see it I got it though I got it um what is that um three four five five five five I'm sorry I can't count sorry congratulations thank you all right congratulations condolences I need statement again the Rend of that statement please that as Morgan received on your paperwork please oh you're seing just read the rest of this okay yeah all right as Morgan papis has received the majority of the votes casted Morgan papis has been elected as vice president there is no call vote required no roll call vote okay congratulations Megan Morgan all right motion is carried all right any a motion second or required to discuss and approve the consent agenda Some Mo second um included in your board packet are your revenue and expenditure reports um revenues are currently at 43.2% compared to 4421 a year ago expenditures are at 51.68 per compared to 48.96963 for five new home starts there were no transaction fees transition fees um the bills payable reports were approved at last week's board meeting and then um ISB has published the results of the property tax relief grant that we applied for um we did not qualify for it um we were one of the only King County Schools to apply for the grant and this grant would um Abate property taxes for Community taxpayers for um tax relief for two years um so we did apply we were ranked 76 on the list and only the top 36 people were awarded so um we did not qualify year okay any questions discussion hey Voli yes Watson yes the yes Fulk yes Gorman yes papis yes pil yes motion is carried I need a motion second or required to discuss and approve the dance team's overnight trip to the state competition in Bloomington Illinois that occurred on January 30th through February 1st move second any discussion oh it's already happened so it's what it is okay Watson yes buff yes Fulk yes Gorman yes pepis yes VY yes pil yes motion is carried any motion second are required to discuss and approve the cheer team's overnight trip to the sectionals competition in Farmington Illinois that occurred January 31st through February 1st so moved second it already happen so we don't need any discussion on that aif yes buul yes bman yes papis yes WBY yes Watson yes pil yes motion is carried can I just comment just procedure yeah go ahead Just For What It's Worth most of these items in most districts would be under consent and and the fact that you're approving something that's already occurred well to me the board's responsibility is to approve the expenditure maybe a report after the activity as information only and tell you know tell tell us how excited the kids were right at those camps but to me the use board time to be more efficient it should be approved in advance uh and then maybe report back at how it all worked out and it should be under consent agenda if it's a routine kind of annual thing now it's the first time the cheerleaders or or the pom poms or go on one of these trips well then that should come to the board for approval beforehand otherwi and that should be separated but if it's a regular annual thing that should be under consent it saves you a whole lot of time this isn't an annual thing we didn't know we couldn't approve it before because they got they made it that far after our last board meeting oh okay so great it all Happ timing we couldn't approve it beforehand right and that's you could tally approve it you based on you know if there are successful blah blah blah and and then we'd have to approve every sport right well any special trip like this yeah there's not that many special trips in schools uh outside of the school district I guess I'm confused like if a uh sports team makes it past the sectionals or whatever then they go down state don't all sports have downstate right St championships so what we would just approve them in case that when you approve your your total budget which is an estimation of what your expend and revenue is you are actually approving that would be calculated into potential expenditures so to me you wouldn't have to approve that so then approve that amount in all of the different sports activities and we just come in under budget if they yeah and and athletic director cannot calculate how many kids are going to go to section how many kids you know that's impossible I just uh you know so that that that's assumed but in terms of the the budget building by the athletic director that that would be covered if in case the kids are s so successful they go to section or or stay you know even better okay um oh I got one more sorry any motion second or require discuss and approve the cheer team's overnight trip to the state competition in blooms Illinois that occurred February 6th through February 8th sove second this already happened so no discussion uh Fulk yes Gorman yes papus yes vulpi yes wson yes a yes pil yes motion is carried all right I need a motion second required to discuss and approve the veterinary affiliation agreements as presented so move second so we have two more uh locations to be able to support our vet tech program where our students are able to go out and get their externship hours a renewal the one is listed as Bartlett Animal Hospital a new location is healthy Paw Animal Hospital so one new location and one current one that is just a renewal from year to year questions no questions no questions Gorman thank you yes pepis yes buy yes Bon yes aif yes Fulk yes pil yes motion is carried all right a motion second required to discuss and approve the boundary change as presented so moved second is that you Dr H that's you I'm sorry oh sorry pardon me um we this is talked about last month um and we have typically our enrollment of prayview have been declining so we have room to fit those kids at uh with the West Point Gardens they've begun construction on their phase three development um so we know that there are going to be uh s see 74 lots that could be sold homes currently under construction so under our current boundaries those students would go to Howard B Thomas Elementary um our recommendation is we'd like to change those boundaries so students at West Point Garden Space 3 will attend Prairie B grade school as we have the room for that in capacity one question okay say something makes sense it makes sense but one question I had I was looking at that pcel and so it looks like what like the picture of the map that was in there so it looks like it's really that's so beautiful thank you um that piece so it's basically the I don't want to say underdeveloped but it's basically what's in progress right is what you're trying to say will go over there not the rest or of anything else okay I just want to make sure have any community members reached out like I live right next door to West Point Gardens but now my kids are going to hbt why are you doing that like I'd rather because they're right across the street there's lit like a street there and then there's okay no I haven't heard anything but I was just curious because to your point I see people there's that street literally right there and on the right other side of it they could say well my kids are going all the way to hbt and they could just go right there but I haven't heard anything yeah so no current families will be impacted because right right there's nothing yeah right down the road down the road yeah just something to think about okay papis yes bupy yes bson yes aif yes Hulk yes Gorman yes Hil yes motion is carried uh motion second required to discuss and approve the resolution in support of vision 2030 so moved so I'm sorry second second second okay okay okay that's you um so Vision 20 23 it's blot point for public education in Illinois um and it centers around keeping you know the priorities of keeping students safe safe keeping high quality Educators in front of students enhancing our postsecondary success and improving the measurement of what is working so in within the document um it outlines recommendations for future focused learning shared accountability predicted funding for our schools so that we can ensure that we have money that's continually coming in um Illinois Association of school boards they're recommending that Boards of Education sign a resolution in support of this Vision um and as most of this Vision aligns with things that we are doing and recommending in 301 um we do recommend that the board the resolution demonstrating support of this Vision 2030 questions discussion I've read it I don't have any objection to it I read it as well um I didn't have any objection to it Matt I was wondering if you had anything that was you know caused to take a pause at it or to think about it or anything within it I did not consider I I felt that I mean it's it's pretty straightforward it's it talks about the things that we've tried to focus on here in 301 over my years that I've been in the district so I I don't see anything that you know glaringly stands out right that stands out correct no hidden agendas or anything like that good B Watson yes aif yes Fulk yes Gorman sure pus yes pil yes motion is carried I need a motion on secondary require to discuss and approve adding new business as an agenda item so move second oh go ahead no no go ahead I was no you're probably gonna explain what it is so go ahead so the idea is that um we want to add a section to the agenda after uh we take care of everything else but before we go to the closed business so that if there as any new business um for example if a board member has an idea about something that needs to be addressed maybe something that came through public comment maybe something that we've received feedback from and we want to talk about pursuing it in some form or fashion that we create a new business item on the agenda so that there can be some discussion like within the open meeting um and and have a dialogue amongst the board um you know so that we have something to think about and then perhaps for the administrators to work on uh or for board Teachers Community and administration to collaborate on so that then it can come back at a future date as uh an agenda item for a proposal to do something and so that was the idea and some days some board meetings there may be no new business some some some days you know there might be some and um just having it on the agenda gives us as board members an opportunity to talk about things that you know have been brought up for example in public comment but um we don't otherwise have an opportunity to address like for example I can give you an example like today PK came and spoke about certain aspects of um the uh accelerated gifted program and uh some of the policy things um he also sent all of us some memos right I had some questions about it and in a new business section we could say well okay we received something from the community and they raised this issue um is this something that we've talked about before is this something that we want to dig into a little bit more that's kind of the idea of new business questions or discussion just that this requires a I think it's a great idea but I don't know it would vote to approve it yeah added to it would be an info after that some districts by the way have it's really simple action items then they new business business right but usually what what we would do is at the beginning of the agenda if you would ask is there anything you would like to change in genda I'd like to take this off consent I want you know there's a whole number of things you can do uh but again when you add an item that you know at the last minute you don't give our Administration a chance to do the re proper research so to me the best way to do it is have a an agenda item at the end of your agenda uh items to be discussed at at the next meeting March 17 and and then we have a couple of weeks to give a thorough review of what the issues are and have all your questions answered so to me action item new and old and and new would be actual specific items we discuss but you also have the opportunity at the end of the meeting say we want some uh the following questions answered on this topic right and and that's definitely the idea is is not to create a uh uh a situation where we like I would raise an issue and ask the administration what are you going to do about this you know right then and there um and our board policy actually provides for any board member uh uh on his or her motion without you know vote can take anything out of consent agenda and move it into to you know uh true every District yeah so so we have that um so are you saying we shouldn't have new business or you're saying you should have action new and old and in new uh you you would actually be able to then add additional items but not not for that meeting for the next meeting right not to vote yeah okay just what it's worth okay we need a motion yeah you're not taking action oh you are yeah we're we're GNA so you need to amend it yeah have to amend that though in order to just make it all difficult so um I would move to D so I I'll move to amend the proposal to um add an action new and old business into the agenda at the uh wherever it's appropriate um and then if that amendment is and the opportunity for board members to add items for the the following agenda for the next agenda that would be my motion amended okay anybody want to Second it second second Watson yes a yes Hulk yes Corman yes Papas yes buy yeso yes she's carried okay all right on to information items I am first up so I just want to provide an update on the board's referral to the regional superintendent to remove um Jeff Gman from the board of education on January 22nd Dr monigan sent a brief email to Regional superintendent Dr Patricia Danto which included the me memorandum the and centure presented to the board regarding the removal of board member Jeff Gorman from office during the January 21st mean a majority of the board voted in favor of his removal under school code original superintendent of schools has the authority to remove a school board member from office for willful failure to perform official duties in response Dr Del Santo stated that the memorandum does not contain allegations that fall within the scope of official duties as defined by school code as a result no further action will be taken by her office um Jeff Gorman will remain on the school board unless he voluntarily resigns or is his current term ends and he is not reelected did you want to say anything about that I just want to give you guys are bummed but you're stuck with me for a little longer no did you want to say anything to that or just no I think it sayso okay anybody else want to say anything okay um committee reports DLT um Dr how yes so District DT or District leadership team uh met on February 13th um we had two action items two items that we really talked about it was uh first was our 2026 2027 calendar discussion so we're in a we're in a good place where we're looking at the calendars well ahead of time now um and for that for that team two draft calendars two versions of draft calendars were provided to the team um one had a start date of August 10th um and the other had a start date of August 17th um in talking with the group The the earlier start does align better with some of the other organizations that we work with uh such as our uh pathway Partners whereas the 817 start was more aligned to what we've done in 2425 and 2526 um both calendars did have semester 1 ending um at the winter break and there was some discussion about adding a half day in early May to allow for vertical articulation horizontal and vertical articulation and break up that long stretch in May if we went with that 8177 start date so we as a committee um we I say we I mean Mandy um did some uh adjustments to the suggest made suggested adjustments to the calendars we shared them back with the committee members and we asked them to bring to their buildings for further discussion with their teachers and get their thoughts and we'll revisit those calendars at our next meeting determine a recommendation to bring to the board um so that was item number one second item was our buildings and grounds director Paula away uh he discussed some of the various facilities projects that we were that were discussed at the facilities committees meaning and some of that will be talked about later but it included things like Capital Improvements large scale projects and projects that were specifically related to accommodating our continued growth and enrollment and more will that on that will be shared in the facilities update question all right um Morgan can you share an update on the community advisory team sure so um Dana our business manager did a presentation for everyone on 301's budget and funding sources and I'm actually going to kind of put her on the spot and turn it over to her because it was a fabulous presentation I just want you to be able to kind of share what you shared with the rest of us on um the budget and funding and I also told her I think it was a great idea if maybe this was something that was shared a little more often maybe every year with everybody in the community as well so so I was invited to the cat meeting as a guest speaker to um kind of answer some budget questions at the at a prior meeting there were some questions on how a budget works and how the funds work um so I put together a very um basic level presentation that explained um all the different funds that we use at Central um and how the funds get their revenues which revenues belong to which funds how the expenditures are coded to those exact funds so you can um figure out which ones go where um there was um slides that came straight out of the budget presentation so some of it was just repetitive from my last um Fall's budget presentation um there were revenues it kind of broke down all the different state local and federal level revenues um and which grants are included in those different kinds of categories which which revenues can be um in the different funds um and then at the very end there was questions about the bond payment sched so I walked through how to read our current Bond schedule um walked them through all the different bonds that we have still in place and the ones that are coming off and how the bond and interest rate um is calculated on that schedule um lots of great conversation came out of there a lot of questions that I thought it was going to be like a 20 minute presentation with questions and we took almost the whole time um so unfortunately facilities was rushed they were supposed to have the second half of the meeting um and I won't steal his Thunder but um so he had different facility um same things that he probably brought up at DLT that he had more time on then in the c meeting he rushed through as as quickly as he could but got some of the high level points on and I believe probably will be reporting back at the next meeting in more details yeah the only additional thing after you left um Dr hog brought up streaming of the cat and um I think it was not well received I think a few people liked it um I think I I would say the majority didn't like that idea um just because they didn't join it to be gone after as certain board members have been gone after were you know elected so I mean we're a fair game but they felt like I'm not fair game I don't want to deal with that um you know which is totally understandable so it was talked about maybe streaming the audio um ultimately it was decided just to wait maybe we wait a year maybe we wait six months and revisit it so was a little interesting discussion but yeah Dan ran through his stuff as quickly as he could so that's all thank you facilities Mark can you update us on the facilities committee yeah so we uh had a lengthy meeting um we had a lot of participation um they reviewed the uh prior months information and then they we talked about um chf's El uh athletic updates uh one of the discussions was to potentially charge um usage fees to cover the expense of our um uh janitors and custodial to clean up um you know and also put in force uh or maybe charge the uh feeder programs uh uh set fee so we're looking into that um just to minimize our costs um you know Auditorium rental we talked about that um and there's more discussion on that and then we talked about uh non- capital projects and future capital projects that were uh uh being done such as big ones like hbt's roof uh little legs hbac um CHS stadium and athletic track and leaches and PR box um so more to come we have oh no we did a uh the RF uh Q for The Architects uh were due back on February 20th so Dan are you here so that I'm assuming we'll hear about that tomorrow all right very good thank you okay curriculum director B Meer will you share an update on um curriculum coordinating Council yes yes so we met last month um we Stephen and I both shared a little bit about open Architects which is the data warehouse all of our assessment um that staff are giving across the district this is one platform that will pull all that information together for staff so it'll help with the analysis um data review in One Stop Shop rather than going to each one of these individual pieces so we did walk the team through that staff had access to that as of this past Wednesday so principal team will start to dig into what that's going to look like in the building level um we did also talk a little bit about the changes or upcoming changes to State assessments that includes I and Isa and act so they're going to right right size the proficiency targets right now so they're more in line um we are actually the fourth in the nation so they're going to right siiz what those are going to be so they're more aligned to what we're what are looking like in other states um surrounding us we did or I did also talk through our um accelerated program that we had talked about or I brought forward last month as well I'll talk about that a little bit later on the agenda uh but I just walked the team through that answered some questions and had some dialogue with our team um regarding that process um Brian did bring to the team we're going to be adjusting our fouryear fouryear cycle no I'm sorry a three-year cycle for Chromebook to a four-year cycle so that adjustment will be made um he was seeking some feedback from the committee members in that regard um everything was good to go I did update the team on our math pilot so we have K5 has been piloting I ready and into math I will be bringing something forward next month for recommendation on how we want to move forward 68 is currently reviewing reveal math and I'll bring that forward as well um for recommendation at that point with that process we had an intervention tool core intervention tool called Spring math and hearing from our teachers it is not well received it has not um been successful for us so we are we are up for renewal for that contract and as a team determined that we do not want to review that or continue with that we are moving away from that um that was primarily used in K5 good news is with each one of the pilots that we're doing or finishing up both of those come with a personalized pathway so it's going to basically replace what was being used for spring math and we will have that piece embedded within that will be part of core embedded in the classroom a lot of surrounding districts do that as a as a supplementary piece that's done at home we are asking that's embedded inside our classrooms so that will bring forward next month um we did have some continued conversation about everyday speech seal um some feedback that I'm gathering from our teachers that again seal needs do not happen at 9:10 in the morning on Tuesdays they're happening all throughout the day um and we really believe it should be responsive to what our students needs are in the classroom and so so we're going to be moving away from the everyday speech seal there was some dialogue about zones of Regulation being utilized at the elementary some of our schools have kind of been dabbling in that we're looking at doing a universal uh training piece by one grade level rep per grade level so they're kind of that point person as grade level teams are having dialogue uh we will be embedding that in as as an opportunity or a resource that staff can use it's all about language so it's not necessarily a um a specific text that you're using although they have it embedded within but it's really being responsive to where the students behaviors are that being escalated and giving them the language to reset and review and get back on task uh so we'll be bringing that that'll be continued to move forward Stephen had talked about biomedical and that cours workk um there's been some great feedback a lot of additional internships are being being brought forward this summer so great feedback in that response um and then he did talk about school link so he walked the committee through how are we using it and how will we continue to expand that so that's really that interest based on students where are they sitting um whether that's going into a career or whe whether that's going into college really being able to tap into those resources to support our students in that next level postsecondary and that was about it and we do not yeah we do not have a current board member um Dr Nolan was our rep that was uh sitting on CCC so um just let me know if there's somebody that will be joining our team can you go back to Spring map what was the issue I I don't know that I necessarily what was the issue so it's a core intervention tool it does have AC acquisition lessons or intervention lessons that are attached to it the issue is it's a core intervention and so some students that really needed that additional support would be expected to just continue to move forward they were not getting that intervention and stopping to do those acquisition lessons in the classroom so it just did not have a personalized approach um and was not being implemented as it truly was designed and not giving us what we were expected yeah the personalized pathway and either one um I ready and uh into math that's called wagle students will take a diagnostic assessment and it couples and supports the core instruction so it's not a pull out here you're going to go do this but it's complementary to what the skills are and Concepts that they're learning in the classroom we have a replacement for it so even though we may corre we got down but directly tied to which is what we wanted um and build off student skill so a student may be excelling in a specific area so they're going to continue to move on in that skill development that next trajectory of skills however some may need ret teaching and it provides that personalized piece makes sense yeah questions anything that I can answer thank you thank you okay um director pay will you provide an update on construction into projects in the district um so we're in that uh lustrious time of the year getting bids out kind of planning our summer work um in the perfect world every year we get better and better at doing this we'd really like to be doing this right around the Christmas holidays getting things out right at that point in time so we're better off this year than we were last so right now through a lot of careful planning a lot of conversation we're going to be going out to bid to do Howard B Thomas's roof this summer as well as the track at Central High School that'll be full replacement of that entire building Roof System reutilizing some of the insulation I talked a little bit about that last month to save some dollars and get to those energy codes uh as far as the the high school track that'll be full depth full replacement asphalt and everything about 15 to 18 years ago the track surface was replaced it's it's past its useful life expectancy we've done a lot of repairs we've done a lot of things to get through it's time for replac so that's our other project that's going out to bid um talking about growth we've been kind of brainstorming over the last year and a half two years how to what our short-term Solutions are for growth we've met with our elementary administrators because we know that's where the the problem is right now um we've come to the conclusion that our best short-term solution right now is mobiles at Country Trails um so we're in the process of working with our vendor on that project there is an opportunity we could possibly do that through a purchasing Co-op um in Li of going out to bid so we're looking at those options but that would be a same four pack of classroom units just extending what Country Trails has on the back end right now um so that's kind of the major summer projects we'll be doing some other space remodeling we've worked with a lot of the the buildings on taking out some walls adding some walls doing some different things to kind of address and kind of work with the space that we have so those little projects will be on the docket but those will be more through our omm budget um the other thing is Mark alluded to our architect RFQ that's been quite the ardu arduous process uh we had 11 vendor submit a packet um we're in the process of reviewing those internally those will be going to our facilities committee tomorrow with recommendations that our team put together of moving forward the intent is the week of March uh March 10th sometime that week bringing in the finalist for in-person interviews So the plan is to bring that to the March board meeting with information and and approval conversation for our District's architect Andor Architects that's all I got any questions thank you thanks right um Athletics and activities director jie will share an update on Athletics and activities as well as a softball spring break trip long time listen ER first time caller um good evening I'm excited to be up here to finally talk about kids um for a change and some of the successes that we've we've highlighted um as you proved in a lot of the agendas our dance team brought home a third place State trophy uh this past February in fact that's our fourth state trophy in three years here during my time here and it's just it's awesome to see those programs grow and continue to see the success from where they were last year our cheer team again made it down to state yet again and uh didn't go their way dropped a stunt but they made it that back down there again which is a feat in of in and of itself and then most recently we had two individual wrestlers compete at the state meet down in Champagne um they did not place but they were great representatives of Central High School we had two fale wrestlers last Saturday wrestled uh Victoria msas uh placed for us again and I believe that's the fourth time she's been down there and placed in her her High School career over four years and Ryan Miller went down there again and just fell short um from an athletic standpoint we're proud of that we did find out our math team our mathletes as we call them 27 of them made it down to the state competition in Bloomington which happens to be the weekend of uh prom but we're working through that and uh just found out we've got a handful of skills USA kids that are going to be doing the same thing heading down the state uh kind of that last weekend in April uh with that student council service Club are all doing great things on the activity side and then I'd be remissed if I didn't include some of our Middle School accomplishments seventh and eighth grade girls basketball won their conference championships this past weekend our Middle School Scholastic Bowl team won a conference Championship and just found out today six wrestlers uh made it to the state competition into calb for our middle school so kudos to uh not just those kids but all our coaches all our sponsors activity sponsors that put a lot of time and effort to uh give these kids an opportunity uh they do they do a great job uh spring Sports ironically two started today at the high school as you can see it was 50 and sunny tomorrow it's going to be 80 and sunny everybody's gonna get outside and Dan every Field's gonna be ready to go right all right love it um so we're excited about that got a great turn out for spring Sports and then the last thing I do just want to update the board on uh the school year 26 27 our Middle School is exploring an option to join another conference that will be more competitive with our size and kind of create some additional opportunities for our kids in 2627 we are looking to join the two St Charles schools two Geneva middle schools one bavia cin and ourselves will make up a 17 Middle School Conference that will compete in all the same sports that we have now as well as potentially some additional opportunities for music uh we already have glass and pole that'll continue chess we're looking at all those options as it currently States now with our size and our growth right now just going out to Rochelle and beler though we're grateful for it uh we're in a position where we've got a lot more kids and some of those schools do and it's creating an unfair Advantage at least on our end and uh we're not getting the opportunities for those kids because they're sometimes not filling a B team in some groups or you know we're getting 100 plus kids out for track and you know we're going to school that has 40 something so we're exploring that that looks like it's a very good possibility we've kind of checked the boxes of Transportation uh Pam Porto said from a from a distance standpoint it would kind of help out tremendously too a little bit even though I know the Tav is a bit of a bit of a dry but when you're only doing that once as opposed to going three or four times throughout the year I think it gives our kids the uh the best competitive Advantage so um I knew I threw a lot at you there's any questions your fastest growing sports in America fastest two growing sports in America right now it's uh girls wrestling and girls flag football flag football exactly fastest growing sports in America wow and you were able to answer that I knew he knew the answer that's why I sure I wasn't sure so great job go off is that all right we're good we're good thank you all right 2025 2026 school fees okay so um regarding our technology fees we are recommending that we do not increase technology fees for the 25 26 school year um we are however adjusting the life cycle of our Chromebooks So currently we're on a three-year life cycle we are looking to extend them to a four-year life cycle that's consistent with a lot of our area districts um what they're doing um warranties will continue to be covered of course um so with that current student device rotation scheduled on a threeyear rotation we're going to issue fouryear uh devices fouryear rotation devices so nobody inadvertently gets caught with fiveyear you know device starts so the devices we have now are less than four are they like they're they're threee cycle they are okay what would be wrong with going with a fiveyear cycle on it um probably their ability to maintain the rotation like now we do kindergarten kindergart 9 11 right we're going to change to first grade fifth grade nth grade is what we so then it cares just how it carries through right gotcha and it'll take two years you know we' mapped it all out multiple times it'll take two years to fully get there because we don't want anybody going into a fifth year device and so we just it'll be pushed out just a little bit to get there but in two years location so kindergarten is no longer getting them are remains or stor un okay do you find that they're lasting like I know we're gonna obviously okay they're years stud that bring in their old [Laughter] device interesting all right uh regarding our Middle School and High School course fees those are already already published for the 25 26 school year so uh we're not recommending any increase for course fees for the upcoming school year um board action will need to be taken uh for an increase in fees for the 26 27th school year we'll look at that in late later uh late spring okay um that'll comp next year pardon spring of next year um in late spring this year later this year for the 2627 26 27 right and then lastly there was uh including with this memo um there's a spreadsheet of some of the all the forward as you call them forward- facing fees that we could gather in regards to um request from the board of education so you look at that spreadsheet on the backside um it really we really kind of fall in the center of a lot of these a lot of these districts um the one thing I thing I would point out our early childhood uh that is a tuition based fee Okay so so similar to what St Charles does so that's for the year um but for the most part um if you kind of look across we're lower in some higher in a couple of others but we we tend to fall pretty generally somewhere in the middle range other than St Charles it seems like we charge a lot for our course fees and like what about like uh the new biomedical we have like 125 course fee for that but I would see that onere the the updated biomedical fee for that you have that I mean that with the second course the biomedical course fees that second course isn't running yet the the one for next year yeah third level la it's just not on here that's all I don't think that's that was my question it's not got you seems like we're nickel and diing all these courses to be honest you because like most of these districts don't even charge for course fuse it looks like right well there's a lot of a lot of oh sure there's a lot in the center that that we weren't able to get there yeah we weren't able to find their fees so it's not that there are none it's that they wening them yes okay yes incomplete data so their their fees on their website might say varies and it's just a range no specific gocha without doing more detail y okay was that all you had that's all okay all right um academically Advanced learning Pathways um director Meer so last month I brought forward our um accelerated pathway fourth through 8th grade with a slow roll out year one would be fourth and fifth grade um and then we would uh add on on the levels as the years progressed um receiving feedback that has been shared with myself that you guys have received from various community members also hearing from some staff members I'd like to pause it's an opportunity to go back and have some conversation pull some people um my thoughts were to get some building reps from all four of the buildings because it would impact all four of them as well as some parents in those various schools that could sit down and and talk through some conversations there's been some concerns that have been brought forward students potentially if we roll this out in fifth grade coming into the the 2526 we would be asking kids at in fifth grade have been there for the last five years from you know they entered in in kindergarten to be changing the school that they've been um that has been their home school for the last few years so I think there's some things There's an opportunity um to gather some feedback to do some problem solving with um the right people in the room and bring that back forward to you for recommendation I know this was an action item I did chat and see if there was a way that we could just take a pause um do some further digging have some conversation and re re bring that back to the board questions any questions you have for me I think it's the right thing to do maybe like you if you know we want to make sure that we if we're going to roll this out we roll it out right roll it out right and hear the voices and have some problem solving and and see what we can do to make it run as smoothly as possible uh there definitely as I shared last month there's a need for this um we definitely have some students that are high performing that just like we would for students that are that are lower performing we want to fill those gaps we want to continue to extend their learning as well so there's an opportunity here I just don't want to rush something I'd rather take time to dig in um and do some some problem solving around some of the concerns and questions to get that all fully answered we brought it through CCC but that isn't um you know many of our parents that are sitting in those seats um or many of our teachers as as Sher mentioned earlier that would be um implementing these pieces so I think there's an opportunity here for us are you getting feedback globally like districtwide about wanting this type of a I'm just curious just no we other parents no there's been mainly um I'm hearing it from a couple schools um that have a larger population when we're looking at also because I've been digging into the data do we look at the 93rd percentile above or do we go to the 95th um so it's definitely coming out of specific buildings that have higher populations which is just what it is um but I do think it's still an opportunity to dig in and do some problem solving to get this process in place thank you for taking that pause and being able to kind of pivot noticing that it may need that pivoting to implement it in a better more functional way yeah thank you it's the right thing to do also know no matter what our teachers do a phenomenal job whether you are a high performing student you are a typical functioning student or you have a student that has has deficit areas our teachers are rolling up their sleeves and doing exactly what is needed so by all means this does not indicate you know my child that has advanced skills isn't going to get what they need because they will that is definitely a part of our priority and what each and every one of our staff members are doing in the classroom so this does not remove that I just timing is everything um and I think there's an opportunity here to dig in some Moree thank you thank you I'll come forward with some new stuff thank you thank you for the update all right renewal of contract with auditing firm so it's recommended um that we renew a three-year period for our Auditors a cian um for the June 2025 26 27 um audits um they've been um efficient and effective they have strong understanding of our District's operations they're very um collegial to work with they they do rotate their Auditors um so in my 11 years we've had four different head Auditors that rotate through so you're getting different um viewpoints different sets of eyes on it and then they always bring out a team of other interns that usually get stuck with some of the yuckier projects um but so there are multiple sets of eyes that that look at our data um I I believe that continuing our partnership with them is they give us our audit Services um the financial accountability that we look for um I I recommend we Ren new for both Central and for Northern can's audits how long have we had them in place how long have we had this auding fir uh I don't know how long it's been my whole time here I've been here going on 12 years so I'm I'm guessing it's been a while before that have you ever other districts have the Auditors that period of time that's not unusual because of the convenience and that knowing the staff in the right District it saves a whole lot of time no I I'm not sure I don't know your audit for it's to me it sounds like you're very pleased with it yes okay you have questions no second we're not there yet enrollment report right so our enrollment report is included in your packet um and it's got both the uh quarterly and enrollment detail report as well um as you can see on on our first page here student enrollment report uh same time same month last year were about three 3.3% over which is pretty consistent with what we've heard in the past um and then you can look on the second page for February 2025 what our totals are at each one of our buildings as they progress so pretty pretty consistent with kind of where we felt we we go okay uh of Information Act man do you want to run these down great so uh we received um Freedom of Information Act from miss Warren a request for all Communications between November 25th 24th December 18th 2024 related to the resignation of Jeff Gman either as board president or from the board entirely we were able to comply with this request in part as there were some exclusions or redactions that were allowed by the law uh we also received a Freedom of Information Act request from steep steel LLC uh request for all copies for copies of all active leases licenses or management contracts for cell towers rooftop antennas or other Wireless installations on property owned or managed by Central 301 along with 24 months of Associated payment histories we were able to comply with this request however no records existed uh we received a Foy from Miss Welch uh requesting all materials provided to the board as part of the board retreat on April 24th 2023 as well as any estimates from larston and Darby imeg Ericson engineering and shales mcnut for work on the proposed high school that was presented or provided to the board in the same board retreat we were able to comply with this request uh we received a foyer from the Illinois retired Teachers Association request for contact information for certified staff retired in 2025 we were able to comply with this request received a foyer from Mr florac a request for student enrollment counts by county of residents in this case the request was denied as we are not required to answer questions or create new records and we do not track this information I received a foer from Miss Welch uh requesting for project exhibit addendums for the CHS Edition in 2024 the pkms cafeteria expansion and the CHS Edition built between 2017 and 2019 for imeg shells and mcnut construction Erics engineering and Larson and Darby we were able to comply with this request however there are no responsive records for some of the requested items uh Foy a received from Miss Welch we received a request for all Communications between Esther mongin and Steve Larson of Lon and Darby Architects between April 1 2023 and October 31 2023 we were able to comply with this request in part as there were some exclusions and redactions as were allowed by law uh we received foer from Miss Welch a request for the separation agreement between the board and Dr mongan and we were able to comply with this request with redactions that were allowed by law and a foer from Miss sarakas C excuse me we received a request for the separation agreement for Dr mongan and the employment agreement for Dr how and we were able to comply with this request with redactions as Allowed by law motion second or required to adjourn to open session and move to close session for the following exceptions 2c1 2c2 2 C10 2c1 2 c21 no moved second a yes buul yes Gorman papis yes buy Boston yes tempo

e e reason I got here like scared it down before they got here all right I have 6:31 we're going to go ahead and get started with this evening's School Board uh for those that are able if you wouldn't mind standing for the Pledge of Allegiance please Al to the flag of the United States of America stands na indivisible liy and justice for all thank you the entire board is here in attendance so I will call this meeting to order Dr Phillips thank you Mrs Weldon we'd like to start each of our meetings with a reminder of our mission vision and core beliefs uh so our vision is that bcse is the choice to learn work and play our mission is to develop expert Learners by partnering with our community to invest in people and our core beliefs are that we all can 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 social and psychological needs are met that our community and School 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 okay first on the agenda tonight we'd like to welcome Miss Lily Davis to the podium good evening Dr Phillips board cabinet thank you for the opportunity to recognize one of our seniors team 2025 Lily Davis I also have Mr Manuel um her principal at Columbus East um and I just want to point the out some uh this really quickly we made an a publication earlier this year and it was sent out to about 33,000 households and uh it's a it's a very big Endeavor especially when it was the first time doing this and as a part of Lily's senior project she was a just an awesome contributor this was a part of her senior project and she'll talk about that in a moment but I'd also like to have Mr Manuel just say a couple words about Willie so it's my privilege to get to introduce uh Lily Davis tonight um Lily um is just a great example of uh East and bcsc students and seniors here um in bcsc and Lily um works hard in everything that she does and she's been this is her third year in journalism this year serving as the editor um of the Oracle which is our uh News newspaper booklet that goes out about once every month um serving diligently on that making sure those stories are ready to go um creating some of those stories herself and checking on those I mean she does all that on top of her three AP classes that she's in her senior year in addition to ones that she's done um throughout her journey here at East and so um just knowing that this is part of what she's done for her senior project on top of all the other efforts that she goes in and and the work that she puts forth um it's just an honor to get to know her and to get to know her over the last two years and so um with that I'd like to introduce Lily Davis to you [Applause] hi everybody I'm Lily um throughout my senior project I had the privilege of working alongside Josh and everybody else to go out and interview people within the bcsc community and learn a little bit more about what was happening and with those interviews I was able to report and write stories I gathered pictures and put together stories to help with the publication that went out in January so yeah that was what I helped with during that and I will just say that um I worked with Dr stal Bal on this project and she wanted everyone to know that she had zero revisions for Lily and she had a lot more for me so uh Lily is very impressive and just as a way to say thank you and acknowledge before the board uh we have a something that we'd like to give Lily I'm going to hand this microphone to Mr Emanuel and if you don't mind if we could just take a picture because it'll really help her senior project so I'm presenting this to you [Applause] Lily and we're going to make her take her picture with the whole board too Lily did you sign any autographs for anyone sry thank you does anyone have any questions for Miss Davis before she gets in her seat questions comments okay now you have to ask something okay I brought her back up here what was your favorite part um my favorite part was just connecting with people that I've never talked to before and getting to learn about parts of bcsc that I wasn't aware of like interviewing with the preschool in the legados um system that was all new to me so I enjoyed learning all about that having a passion for Publications is there anything you think we should do differently or better in bcsc to help reach parents and families I mean I think you guys do a great job this publication being sent out in the mail I mean we've had two this school year so far I think that's a great way to reach people I know you guys have a lot of Outreach online and I think that's a great way too with how media is changing so I think the bcsc is getting out their information well I believe thank you are there projects like this that you'd like to do in the future I mean yeah with the work I've done here it's very similar to what I do with the Oracle and I love it so hopefully in my future I'm able to pursue something along the lines of publication I like reaching out to the public and informing everybody so yeah hopefully very well spoken and very well done thank you very much [Applause] get set up okay we have Schoolboard member reports next um Mr major would you like to go first yeah for the Redevelopment commission we met uh last week nothing really new to talk about we've got some new people on the board now now so or on the commission so it'll take a little while to get them trained up so they understand what we're looking at for the future and the Health Trust we haven't had any changes since the last meeting so thank you um for bcsf I was able to meet with executive director deepy um she was very helpful in going over goals for the year for the foundation um upcoming grant opportunities um what it looks like for board service and specifically we are working on the mea Gala it's the South Asian Gala it's set for April 26th this is the gala that helps funding um raise funding for the stem programming for bcsc students so this is a really great opportunity um to support our students and the important stem programming that's happening so I have a flyer if you want to come check it out um I can share the QR code with you um also met with Sarah Dunlap with Council for Youth Development to talk about about upcoming activities um with Cyd most importantly their youth Summit is happening on March 18th I still think they're looking for volunteers so if you want to come volunteer with me that day that would be great um you can visit their website or Facebook to do that thank you uh two reports the districting and Facilities committee met uh in my absence but continues to consider U school name for the 12th Elementary School uh that process is uh following a prescribed procedure and will end up at the board uh later this year uh I think we've received some information already as board members um but that's that's an exciting prospect and then the uh business advisory Council met and gave some feedback to uh Mr Nick Williams who um has explored a couple of things for the committee uh one was the uh uh he Revisited the school naming process uh told us how the districting and Facilities committee might in the future be looking at data about schools capacities and District Lines um two pretty productive meetings okay and and all of those issues will be coming to the board in the future thank you Mr Stenner um the diversity Council um um met in my absence as well on February 19th I'm going to go through some of the notes um that took place during that meeting um the group was brought up to speed uh regarding graduation rates uh data was disaggregated so the team could look at that by different demographics and sure we're getting every student to a graduation outcome um several of the bcsc staff was honored in the community for their important contributions in the areas of citizenship Community Building um the building Community award was just by IU Columbus to one recipient um and there were two recipients of the outstanding Citizen Award from the AAC NAACP presentent um spent some time talking about the high ability identification program um and then just a broad discussion on how we're going to honor our commitment to helping all students in bcsc amidst um kind of the political climate right now that makes things difficult things are changing but we still need to make sure our kids are getting what they need okay Mr Nan um I have two reports the one is the first the IU Board of advisers met on February 12th um let's see for the spring of 24 their head student headcount is up 14% And the credit hours were up 19% um part of that is due to their implementation of Athletics and students have a required number of hours they have to take to be involved in athletics um and um oh and Dr Roberts of the Community Education Coalition gave a report on a Workforce 2040 project which Columbus has partnered with other communities around the nation and it's to um to look at ways to um make the process going from um K12 education to higher education to careers as smooth and seamless as possible so we're fortunate to be a part of that Nationwide program um and oh and then we actually well I didn't get to because I was virtual but but then there was a tour of the new IU Columbus has a new um Student Center that um what's what's the word I'm looking for help me Lee um and anyway they have a new new student center that was dedicated that is worth a trip out to to visit um long term they hope to actually build a student activity center and event center but um that's that's further out um then isba as as the isba legislative liaison um first kudos to Whitney Lloyd who participated in the isba legislative action day on February 18th thank you for representing us um and the legislature is at the halfway point isba started out tracking 184 bills it's down to 67 bills and I want to talk about just a couple of them um one of the biggest is House Bill 10001 which is the budget bill um if actually if you go to the isba website or other places um it will talk about the increases in special education Career and technal Technical education honors diplomas and um English language Learners um those budget wise those are up but the per pupil rate is actually flat from what it's been the increase in budget is the anticipated increase in the number of students um and um we this actually came up on the board over the last couple years since the state um since we can no longer collect textbook funds the state established a curriculum support fund um that we received at least once maybe twice um that fund is if this bill passes as it's written that fund will end and those curriculum um support funds would be rolled into the regular student um support funding um so which also means when you look at some of the percent increases um it looks like a higher percent increase because that's been rolled in if you um don't count that as new money um then the current budget proposal would mean a 4% increase per pupil in per pup per pupil funding for for us for 2026 um and a one actually for all districts and a 1.5% increase for fiscal year 2027 um and this would impact our education fund another big bill is a is Senate bill one which is on property taxes and this bill would lower the potential growth of property taxes this could impact our operations fund but probably not hopefully not as much because um of added Total Property assessments because of new construction in our in our district um and one other I'll mention is Senate Bill 518 which would require traditional public schools to share property tax funds with Charter Schools if the charter school has 100 or more students and when I first read that bill my reaction was that doesn't impact us because we don't have any Charter Schools but in fact it would make us a prime target for um for for-profit charter schools to um to come in and use some of our tax money for their profit there's a lot more bills you can see them on the isba website I'll be a lot quicker sorry the district Wellness Council met on February 11th um kind of went through more of the C uh T Title One process and then most importantly we discussed the substance abuse across bcse in the students um and one of the big things that came out of it was the lack of support and uh counseling for minors apparently uh so one thing that I'm actually trying to do is partner with camp adury with the subse and adapt uh programs to see if they can provide some at least documentation or or uh products to help guide our youth into better choices um and and possibly develop a better partnership for further support so uh C CCC met uh end of February I believe and we talked a lot about also Indiana Legislation but from the past cycle which was the uh update High School curriculum and Pathways model and so walked through that we walked through the teams model and the successes that we're seeing with graduation uh we also walk through prek performance and a couple other measures that are coming to the board in terms of just efficiencies that we're finding so more to come thank you I think we'll go into cabinet reports now yes thank you this next three this is the Dr hack show we have three presentations in a row from Dr hack and her team um the first one really just bringing a refresher back to the board about the prek programming that we've had in the district for the better part of 20 years um and we haven't regularly annually brought a presentation to you about that preap programming so um Dr hack and her team you're gonna update you good evening thank you Mrs Welden Dr Phillips and the board tonight we are sharing information regarding our prek program within bcsc our mission in prek is preparing children who are socially emotionally and cognitively ready for kindergarten we provide a highquality education to our four-year-olds in the community while not losing sight that four-year-olds are not just little adults they are children who are exploring learning testing boundaries enhancing skills and really are just a lot of fun to be around with this I want to introduce Liz stro our director of prek and then let her introduce her team and the Fantastic work that is being done in our prek program thank you Dr hack um this evening I have with me my assistant director Kim BM and our udl facilitator Kate edgrin bcsc prek was first opened in 2010 and eventually moved to the Johnson Building in 2011 with seven classrooms our program has grown significantly and has expanded to 14 classrooms that are staffed by 48 highly trained instructors this Staffing allows our classrooms to maintain an exceptional 4:1 child to staff ratio it is a priority of our program to be accessible to All Families currently 59% of our students receive financial assistance through on my way to prek vouchers which are provided by the state or modified tuition rates BCC prek is independently funded and does not utilize resources from the education fund we are also very proud of the quality of our classrooms each is level three pass to Quality rated this rating system is a tool for families to recognize highquality Child Care our level three reflects not only our classrooms being safe healthy and conducive to learning but also offering a planned curriculum that guides Child Development and School Readiness these our intentional spaces designed or currently being designed with our youngest Learners in mind and it's all thanks to the Envision 23 work bcsc prek has adopted the Regio philosophy as its curriculum this philosophy originated in ailio re in reio Amilia Italy and is based on the principles of respect responsibility and Community it emphasizes a child Center philosophy where children are seen as capable competent and curious Learners the Regio philosophy focuses on first the image of the child children are viewed as active participants in their learning they are seen as curious capable and competent individuals who construct their learning and under own understanding through explor exploration exploration excuse me and interaction with the environment and the people around them the environment as the third teacher the environment plays a key role in the Regio inspired practice classrooms are designed to be aesthetically pleasing organized and full of natural light materials and Open Spaces it is arranged to encourage exploration Discovery and collaboration bcsc's current Renovations are very much aligned to the style of learning this is evident with the neighborhoods natural elements and neutral color schemes throughout the already renovated classrooms and spaces learning through exploration and play the approach emphasizes Hands-On learning children engage in play ba play based activities where they explore investigate and question the world around them play is seen as essential for cognitive social and emotional development where children interact with their peers teachers and envir environment to construct knowledge the role of the teacher teachers in a Regio inspired environment act as facilitators and co-learners guiding children's exploration and supporting their inquiries they observe listen and document responding to Children's interests and providing opportunities for deep learning they are also Pro they also provoke and challenge children's thinking through open-ended questions a study out of Boston was actually recently highlighted in an NPR article in 2021 that emphasized the benefits of a prek program like the one we have in bcsc prek the results show the life-changing impact of having a prek experience in the study of 4,000 students students who attended prek were six percentage points more likely to gradu high school and eight percentage points more likely to attend college in addition to these benefits the study also showed students who attended prek had less behavioral problems in our local context we are seeing the benefit of our prek programs on IAD scores in our students who are non-english-speaking we also provide transportation to and from school to our students and provide a competitive cost per week as compared to other local providers finally the study mentioned um estimates a 7 to 10% return on investment for every dollar spent on prek through economic gains for the students and their families in addition to decreased spending on social Correctional or remedial programs this is money well spent next year we are excited to be opening two additional classrooms to meet the growing demand within the community one will be located at Taylorville Elementary and the other at Clifty Creek Elementary as a second Legato prek classroom the expanded reach aligns with the envisioned 2030 goal to serve 80% of kindergarteners through BCS prek our commitment is to ensure that as many children as possible enter kindergarten prepared for Success additionally we are meeting the need for highquality care within the community currently an estimated 695 children in our area are in need of child care between the ages of 0er and five an increase of 150 children since 2030 while the need is increasing the number of highquality providers such as BCS pre prek is decreasing the need for financial assistance has also increased significantly by almost 65% since 2021 our program continues to be among the most costeffective in the community bcsc prek provides a learning experience that is not only exceptional in quality but also exceptional in value we welcome you to come and see our students and how they are growing each day please reach out to me if you would like for this to happen I'd be happy to give you a tour thank you does anybody have any questions for us um I have a couple questions first I should have looked this up after I looked at this earlier but Regio reminds me a lot of monori are there differences between this and monori that would be important to for us to know I will let my assistant director Kim bakire answer this I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to answer it really well um I'm not super familiar with monori except that um monori is more individualized and reio is more of a collaborative group type they work together more so than I a monor setting I'd call that an important difference wrong but I think that is I'm pretty sure that's the difference um my next question is about uh on my way prek which is basically kids getting scholarships to go um I've heard from Private Preschool people that sometimes there are a lot of Hoops expected particularly of parents that make that a challenge do you experience that when you get kids when those kids are in the program are they likely to stay in the program the whole year or are there I guess that's the question we have not had that issue in our program um I think the hardest part for parents is really the application process and that's just because it's a two-step process so first the parent has to um fill out an inquiry and then there's follow-up paperwork that they have to submit online that's typically where we see the most difficulty once the children in our program it is very rare that they do not stay in our program and the only reason that they would be dropped from on my way prek is due to attendance we find that our attendance rates in prek are really excellent the kids want to be in our classroom so which is a great thing and my last question is so are the current numbers limited by the space we have um it depends on the school really it some schools yes and so um that's one of the reasons why we're expanding in the two areas that we're expanding those are two schools or programs where we see uh the greatest need um in other areas it just fluctuates and that's kind of the difficult part about estimating numbers for prek is that they do fluctuate from year to year fortunately though for our program because we provide transportation we're able to maintain fairly consistent class sizes thank you I had a question on the uh Target built-in within Invision 2030 how did we come up with the 80% it's a kindergarten classroom usually has up to around 25 and prek classrooms are capped at 20 and so if you had three kindergarten classrooms in a building we would we would Target to try to have um also three prek classrooms to have the capacity to meet up to 80% of the kindergarten enrollment at each of our buildings so what's the current rate roughly I'm sorry what's the current rate roughly varies widely across buildings for example Lincoln doesn't have room it doesn't have a prek um Taylorville had one classroom this year vers uh they have three or four kindergartens at Taylorville this year I don't remember but it's usually more like one classroom to three so when we look at like kindergarten or first grade right we have the uh the perial schools what's our typical rate at that perspective because I guess the 80% feels very closely aligned with what we've seen being in kindergarten through six and so is there is the goal to grow to be at the same level where really it's just the periodical schools that were gapped or like CU like there's a lot of providers in the space right you got my kids went to kids first I know there's faon or um and Sandy Hook and then like daycare center so like I would assume this would be a much lower rate than what we would typically have of kindergarten unless are you seeing something changing that I may be missing only that our the trend is to have more support both ferally and at the state level for prek and so our goal is to have the capacity at every one of our buildings to accommodate up to that 80% of our incoming kindergarten if in fact there is ever support and everybody can go to prek that wants to got we don't want to be limited we don't want funding to show up and support to show up and then say well we would love to serve those students but we don't have capacity in all of our buildings to get you know 80% of our kindergarteners in there yeah another another way to maybe ask that is do we have a ratio of teachers to students is it like at prek is it like 1 to 10 um actually in our classrooms it's four to one so one staff member to every four children which is actually a far more desirable ratio than most of the preschools you're going to find around town and the other benefit I will add um is that our curriculum directly aligns with the curriculum of K through six so we already start those early literacy um curricula that you've heard about all year in our classroom so that when our students enter kindergarten they're already very familiar with the routines they have a solid start with um all of their sounds and letters so it's it's a really good foundation and and we can be confident of that so so one thing you know you you shown the performance of kids that do attend prek my wife taught prek at Southside 25 years ago and so um do we have a mechanism today I know we're using lhp I think for data analysis but do we have a mechanism that could look at the kids that enrolled as a kindergartener that had prek at least in bcsc we that might be a national number but and then can we separate those to look at kids that had bcsc prek and then as they graduate can we show the trend to see that number one prek is better and then hopefully hopefully uh bcsc prek comes out on top of all of those to be able to show you know just overall performance and it's a selling point too for the community as well well we already do have some of that data so the lhp data specifically targeted our program and showed significant impact on our free and reduced populations and our English as a second language populations um but I will also note that the most dramatic data that you will find that is correl with prek is actually behavioral data so really what we're looking at is less referrals um greater graduation rates so really it's about School Readiness as much as as it is about test scores and and for that you know we I I don't know if that is something that we could do we don't have it now looking backwards we've talked about this Dr hack and I've talked about this for the better part of nine years or so but we do not have we know whether they attended bcs's prek um but we don't know outside of that if they attended no prek or one of the other ones that you mentioned um is so we just don't have it looking backwards we could start collecting it next year doing it go ahead yes we already have a plan for next year we'll have a universal screener within our bcse system so our kindergarteners coming to us will have a set of questions that our kindergarten teachers will help uh screen and and it gives the kindergarten teacher another relationship Builder as well as where's this little guy or girl um at at this point in time so they can help with class P placements it'll also have the opportunity to have a box checked prek or yes did they have a prek experience and where did they go to prek so we're working on that and it will be up and running for next year we piloted this year with a handful of our teachers but next year will be full-fledged thank you I'm not sure where I got this idea but I think it would be really cool if we had a senior project that would um put together some public and advertising for what a great job we do we would love that and I will say that um Miss Davis did interview our program and she did a phenomenal job we were so impressed with the product that she created it it really I think captured the essence of our program but it would be nice to have prek specific literature as well thank you thank you all Dr hack before you jump to the next one there just a couple of things that I want to add on here first of all we are part of a really strong community ecosystem for early childhood and prek and um we really consider all of the other providers Partners in the community we work together um on advocating for prek uh at the state level and also work to share seats and information with across schools um and then the second thing I wanted to just speak Mr Nan to your point um we do have two parallel systems that exist and um are continuing to to grow apart from one another the onway on my way pre program that provides support for 59% of the kids who attend bcs's prek if you're a family of four you only qualify for that if you make less for the full support if you make less than about $45,000 a year and you have to be working enrolled uh training or looking for work or enrolled in a program there is another program funded by an $8.5 million tax credit at the state level that provides scholarships for four-year-olds who attend specific private prek um and those are the proposal right now is that those would have no limits on income and they also have no requirement that anyone be working or looking for work so um I've advocated with our legislators on that topic and we'll continue to do so just to make sure that two similarly situated four-year-olds have equal access to high quality prek program thanks for letting me rant there please continue we need we need all the support so thank you thank you for that thank you Liz yes all right we'll continue um talking about I read tonight and our foundational reading skills so we wanted to bring some op to bring the opportunity to you tonight to talk about reading foundational skills on our current third grade students in bcsc standing with me is Jeannie long an instructional coach for the district and an instrumental part of the work that we do in bcse tonight we will review our students progress the strategies we've implemented and our next steps in ensuring every child is set up for success in literacy let's highlight some of the heart some of the hard work that has been happening in our classrooms we've taken intentional steps to strengthen our literacy curriculum in our classrooms we have looked at all the supports that are needed and some of those key instructional strategies you can see on the screen uh this evening I would like to highlight two of those for you tonight interventions and continuous progress monitoring we have been actively doing these two things to provide targeted instructions to meet the students needs teachers continue to work with each student and look at them week by week and then report on them monthly and to so that we can see their strengths and what they might need additional support in the other thing that I would like to highlight this evening is our professional development that we've had in our district on the science of reading every PD day in bcsc we have devoted time around the science of reading and what those practices are and what they look like for in each and individual grade level our team created plans that strengthen their knowledge through discussion in this research so that the teachers can utilize these practices in the classroom one way we continue to monitor this work is with our nwaa assessment this is an indicator of our students literacy Readiness this Winter's NWA results showed an increase in students reaching proficiency compared to this time last year this is in a very very encouraging Trend as it highlights the effectivess of our strategies and supports and instructional practices while this is not cohort data it is a celebration uh nonetheless so this brings us to where we are currently and as a reminder 352 of our current third grade students successfully passed I last year as a second grader they demonstrated the impact of early interventions and the work that we do we have 849 students currently in third grade this leaves 497 students testing in third grade actually today of those currently testing 373 are predicted to pass based on their performance on second grade Administration continued interventions and the results on nwaa assessments this leaves us 124 students considered to be at risk of this group 96 students qualify for a good cause exemption such as receiving special education services and reading or are considered to be new language Learners the remainder 28 students at risk do not qualify for a good cause exemption and are at risk of being retained in third grade for another year if they do not pass IAD after two more administrations of the test one Administration will be at the end of the school year and another will be at the end of summer school while these numbers show some challenges also highlight that many students have already demonstrated proficiency and are on track to pass so using all that available data including IAD in second grade nwaa teacher feedback and intervention Effectiveness we currently project an overall IAD pass rate of 78 to 84% please remember that this is not cohort data and we always want to see a growth from year to year in the numbers of students proficient but these are different students in a different year so looking ahead we have a clear timeline for the coming months to promote opportunities foress success the first I assessment started today and will continue through March 14th preliminary scores for passing students will be analyzed the week of March 24th those who did not pass in March will have that second opportunity to take the take a test the week of May 12th summer school for targeted support and in third grade third in a third testing opportunity will take place May 27th to June 6th for those who are not successful on any of those three attempts and do not qualify for good cause exemption will be notified of retention per legislation the week of June 9th finally the idoe will release the final State confirmed Pass rates in August in closing the next three months will be pivotal while we acknowledge the challenges we also celebrate the progress made and remain steadfast in our mission to ensure all students develop the foundational reading skills for academic and lifelong success I am so proud of the work being done in our schools the students the teachers the administrators families book buddy volunteers Tas and coaches have poured their hearts into this work to help students read they know it matters for these students today today and tomorrow it is a challenge to teach students to read we take this work seriously and know that we change lives because of it thank you for your time and we'll take any questions how does how does our our rates for the uh IED the passing and the you know good cause exemption how does that compare to the states that breakout so we by I read the last one we were ahead of the state okay yeah an administration of second grade very much in similar line and but definitely we're Head of the State in third grade passing Dr hack can you say of the 28 students or any of them in the I read program currently the 28 students that I think we've said are at risk are they are those specific students in I'm sorry not I read book Buddies thank you Dr Phillips knew what I meant book buddies program thank um some are in book buddies some are in targeted interventions every child though know is known by their teacher for the opportunity that they did not pass in second grade are at at risk at this at this during this year and week by week we have been tracking those students their progress and where do we need to help them grow so if it's not book buddies it's an intervention within the classroom okay and their parents would be aware also of their status we sent home a letter August saying that their child was at risk because of second grade scores then we sent home another letter in January saying again their child was at risk and then many more things have happened this um even this last month to let parents know I's coming if you've watched the news you've seen the Indianapolis new they've talked about it so it's very well well known that IED is here um and so we've been doing our part to have family intervention nights to have parents come in to work with individual teachers principls have had nights at nights to say come and work with us so yes we've been working on that and is there anything you need from us to help support you going forward see just a few more hours I think we're good we want definitely to see this first swing at the bat we are so excited to see that number coming out of the gate um and we'll have those analyzed the 24th so we're we're just excited at this point we can't do anything we're we're just waiting um but principles in the buildings are doing everything that they can teachers know the importance of this and they're excited to we just want to see where that first initial score comes comes in okay okay and we'll have that between now and our next meeting is that right um preliminary yes but preliminary a long way to go considering all the retest opportunities that are available correct okay for a final passing percentage so in Ence we're funneling down yeah to a smaller number each time so the first prediction range you gave us that's the prediction for after the first administration of the test is that so the way that I looked at that Mr Nan was out of the gate we hope to have a 74% out of the gate with no um with just our preliminary results and then eventually we'll inch up kid by Kid to 84 um I'm keeping my fingers crossed for even maybe T higher but hate to Hate to put that on the screen but but that's our best guess at this point and I I should have started with thank you thank you thank you for this report this is exactly the kind of thing that I've been hoping for instead of us waiting until we get the the IAD result results we fully realize their predictions with with an unknown margin of error but but they're still it's still great to see and if we could actually reach I don't want any of our kids to be retained but but when this legislation first came out I couldn't imagine we would have a number as small as 28 so I this is pretty thrilling to me Kudos yeah kudos to those teachers in the buildings and and teachers and principls who know those students name names and and scores and I also have to add from my very meager understanding of reading and the science of reading but but um with one of my book buddies they this particular book buddy has had trouble sounding Out things with like TH or two I don't know what it's called Two Two Letters together and there's a sheet that we work on that it's just really cool to see some of the techniques that I was told come out of Science of reading that that help them see some of those errors and think about it and and fix them I I think it's a powerful thing so thank you for all your work on that too and thank you again for being a book buddy and this is the time that the light bulb comes on for so many students and so we're we're appreciative of the state again giving us that opportunity to give that second Administration in third grade before they actually leave for summer that will help us again funnel down and I guess I had one other question thank you um so between administrations is something um different done with those kids are continuing the same work that they have done the kids who didn't pass the first Administration so again we'll go kid by kid so we will analize where did that student fall on the IAD score what was their deficit but also where are their assets and then how do we build on that making sure that we tweak where they need to go and then in that time now between that um May 12th second Administration and then even after that our are there ways to get those little guys over the hump during summer school so we will go find tooth and the state does give us data to help us do that okay I'll I'll be quiet after this one please this is fun we love it but something else that that I wasn't aware of and I I actually learned through my experience with book buddies that other board members might not be aware of is I mean it's not just teaching the kids to read but it's some of it is helping them understand what the questions are asking to convince someone else that they do know how to read and that they understand what they're reading correct and we teach our students to go back into the text we want them to say ask a question and then where does that say that in that text that is a skill that we do practice and we help we are encouraged by our book buddies doing that as well so thanks again to Genie and and gret and Jon to that the work that they've done together to make book buddies even stronger has been powerful the last few years yeah and I just I want to Echo what Dale said uh you know this is a great report I thank you for that uh graduation rate would be another one that I think we're not looking for exact but you are giving us a projection and a trajectory are we going to be here or up here so we now have this range of expectation to where we'll be and I also agree with Mrs Weldon uh that or ech want to Echo what she said about what else is needed because I I wasn't 100% sure how I'm glad you explained that I looked at it as being an average of 82% so the way I formulated my question was what is it going to take for us to move to 86% and then 90% given that you've got seven strategies so what is the eighth or the ninth or the 10th thing that you need to do that requires our support and approval because to be honest with you I think we're all kind of sitting here scratching our heads thinking how does a third of our kids not pass reading right so I think we all want to see them pass we know we're not going to probably get to 100% but how can we inch closer to it I think that intentionality with reading is essential we've had four Cadre coaches in four in in our school in four of our schools what's that opportunity to take that and maybe look at what they're doing in that Cadre and then expanding it whether it just be knowledge or even people we do have to look at what the possibility is there because I'm curious to see how those four schools who are part of the Cadre do compare to our other schools who are not part of the Cadre so that's going on behind the scenes we're definitely watching that but that's something that we're that's on our minds jeie can you think of something else that we have we have amazing resource hmh is our adopted resource we feel so confident with that resource we feel confident with the teachers that are that are in in the building um buildings where we also possibly could see some support is with mentoring at our in our K to3 classrooms with our newest teachers so having somebody who um is experienced in science of reading who could actually work with those teachers individually before before the school year starts doing those simple check-ins with them along the way that's that's another possibility of where we could grow and Dr hack I'll just add um I think the number one thing on the list um for support is how do we support those K through three teachers it's not a sustainable strategy to just put a whole lot of pressure on third grade teachers because they carry the weight of every kid in their classroom they know how far away a student is from passing they know what their most recent score was every week they carry that weight so we have to spread that across all the the primary grades and a couple of strategies that have been mentioned already tonight um first of all helping Mentor new teachers at those primary grades so they can be successful right off the bat and we we already have it on the agenda to bring to you uh for approval at either the next meeting or the one in April and then the other one we've talked about multiple times during our board meetings and that's prek tonight so we know that for specific kids who are already going to struggle with mastering fundamental reading skills by the end of third grade um they can really benefit from PRK so adding two classrooms one for Clifty students and one for students at Taylorville both at our uh uh Title One schools in the long run are going to start you you should start seeing that number continuing to tick up without just putting an enormous amount of pressure on those second third grade teachers the uh only other thing I had un fortunately Mrs Haynes I saw her leave but um we want to be the stem capital of Indiana so my next question is do we have a similar report for math performance to understand how our students are performing in math we do have NWA as another part of the work that we do so we can continue to look at our NWA but part of our work and part of our uh systemic work work is really digging into the IAD and that's been where our Focus has been but definitely we're hearing more and more about legislation looking at math so we wouldn't be surprised if there's something coming down the pike for that but we also know it's important for our work too I would of course also Echo that wonder why Dr hack can you share um why the cadr were assigned to their specific schools was it based on IAD scores correct it was based on IAD scores of last year we had to apply at a certain time and at that point our initial score made me believe that they could could use that extra boost and so because of that we were able to put four Cadre people um in those four schools then that was the reason why I I also really appreciate the fact that your team is they're meeting each individual student where they're at I think that says a lot about bcsc and and the IAD initiatives um you both specifically mentioned focused intervention for students with special needs can can you just give an example of or two of that so we have some schools that are looking at some other um resources so there are some resources that the idoe has put on their high quality resource list and so we looked at those so we have our Core Curriculum and so we look at what is outside of our Core Curriculum so that they get that Ong grade level that's extremely important when you're thinking about that reading instruction that every student gets on grade level uh for 90 minutes and so then what is that that next that next tier that next plus one and so we have gone to um those the idee suggestions they've listed a couple things uh that we could use that are resources that our teachers can use so those students so for example um at a school that I work with they have now very intentional groups that are there's like four different groupings one is on very specific phonemic awareness so we've identified what program will work best for that and we we've found that purchased it and they're using that which one are are needing a little more phonics so we have we have another program Florida Center for reading research offers a lot of free resources another resource um the ufly resource it has a lot of free resources that's what it's for and the idoe uh accepts it another group uh is working on fluency getting those students so that they are feeling confident when they're reading um they just need a little bit more work on uh having that procity that uh the rate the accuracy they have a group that's just working on compreh ion and those are our students that are so close that we feel are right there on track but they really need that very intensive work on comprehension going back in the text finding those answers and being able to to to answer those multiple choice questions so that's just one kind of example of I know one school that I work currently work with that it's four five and it's like five different people and so they take that group of students and then they are working with all of those and then they have the students that already passed they already passed in second grade so now they're they're having them in higher literature and doing projects with them so that they're meeting really all the students not just the students that were were really worried about so right there that's five lesson plans for 13 minute lesson a day so it's a lot of work and a lot of intentional things and what we're looking at is making sure that what we use is research-based it's not something I find and I pull off um that's the really the key key uh that we talk about a lot is that it has to be a research-based curriculum and materials and not just something we pull off of um the internet so well thank you for the work that you're doing and congratulations on the incredible progress thank you and Mrs Lloyd we would also um like to point out we we wouldn't just pull one set of students out based on on maybe the identification of special education we would look at what Genie is saying and we would pull students no matter what um what what classification they might have is on fluency so it would be an intermixed group not just based on their special education status yeah that's great thank you thank you oh yep we've talked about a lot of the items on the implemented strategies slide you've gone into the strategies I'm curious about one we haven't talked about the quarterly data meetings could you describe who's in the room uh and and what some of the items on the agenda are correct I can tell you from my level um I meet with principles and talk about the data on a quarterly V on a quarterly visit and that would be with the instructional coaches myself and a principal and maybe the udl coach or another person in their building that would help drive that that conversation Jeanie's in those conversations at the building level so I'll let her explain that so when we look at those meetings we're really looking at the data and what we do is we look at and we've heard this many times today but we we pull up that spreadsheet and we are looking at each and each and every one of those students so we would look at where are they with phonemic awareness do they does this group need where are they should we bump them up because they need a little uh maybe a little push maybe they're getting a little stagnant so we look at the data and see how their numbers have gone up and down we have a conversation about how how how were they that day you know when they did the testing what have you noticed or how are they doing in class so there's a lot of really good discussion about the kids about who they are about what we notice in class not just this one test progress monitoring that we do what do we notice that they are doing in class and what they're turning in and how they're participating and so are we always gear on the side of we're going to push them a little harder and see uh what what they can do into the next uh to the next section and then we look at the phonics and then where our ultimate goal is that they all get to that fluency so we have a lot of conversations how can we get them to that oral reading fluency where they're reading passages answering questions and we're getting them to that 80% mark on a comprehension uh passage so that's our always our goal is okay so this person's a little stanking so what do we need to change up what do we need to do a little differently or maybe they need to be bumped up to the next to the next level to see how they do and nine times out of 10 when we kind of bump them up a little higher we see them that they just increase because that's it's a renewed Challenge and um we we do have to have some conversations with those little Fellers and girls that they're like why do you keep making me do this now we're like then do your best on this one and we can move you on and get to the fluency and so um it's just very intentional and where they are and how we can get them to that to that goal so a lot of a lot of conversation on what we're doing what's working who who did something that worked really well how can we recreate that even I go to all the 11 elementary schools and what they always ask what is somebody else doing that somebody you you go around what are they doing that they're seeing success so then I share what's happening in another building where they saw some success um and so then they they try and um you know do that there too to just everyone is searching for how can we get them reading that's our ultimate goal um is get them reading thank you I was in those sessions too asking what do they need from us as principles what do you need from from us at the the district level they always want another Genie they say can Genie just come and work with us um so we get her out as much as possible but again their their comments are usually time and confidence for the kids that's what they go back to that that Personal Touch and that relationship they they need time thank you I appreciate your time tonight thank you and Jeanie's gonna stay and we'll ask Shan Deber to come on up Sean is a teacher at Taylorville Elementary and so tonight with jeie we'll be talking to you about the review of our science materials science is not just another subject in the school day it is a fundamental part of how we understand the world we solve real world problems and prepare students for their future we take this work and appreciate it to be able to present to you a resource that does just this it gets students excited and curious about our world as they become our next generation of scientific Learners our adoption team was made up of representatives from all bcsc elements schools and two parent Representatives we are very thankful for all of the collaboration that this team had during our meetings we appreciate the parents that came and offered their insight and time the group was very thoughtful about the needs of our elementary students and teachers so we want to take you through the timeline of this adoption process so in September Dr hack Sean and I worked uh to create a team uh in our district so that we could evaluate these resources for our science curriculum these are six-year adoptions so we take them very seriously because we have them for six years so during October and November uh Sean and I met with our team we discussed and reviewed some potential resources and this winter Sean and I uh presented Dr hack to Dr hack what we thought would be a great resource for our elementary teachers we then began some negotiations on reducing the price so the adoption team discussed resources that were on the idoe high quality resource list we evaluated the cost of these resources uh we we also really looked and talked with our uh teachers that were with us and the parents what is our current state what usage do we have of our current adopted resource uh we then used a rubric uh that had elements of udl that we've used for many years to evaluate all these resources so the team determined that studies weekly was the best option for our BCS bcsc elementary schools this might look familiar to you because this is the company that we currently use for our social studies I would like to highlight a few of the reasons that our committee selected this resource there was a k to6 alignment in the Indiana Next Generation standards it's very important when we're looking at resources for our district that we make sure that they are in alignment with our standards the students and teachers have access to an online and a print publication and it is a newspaper like uh publication that they they get to use each week so they are weekly so one of these uh K to six they have weekly another thing that really has come up with our social studies use is that there is this family engagement what is really nice about this resource compared to other ones that we've used in the past is that a at the week's end this can immediately go home instead of the one big consumable book that we have had previously that it goes home at the end of the year um and typically then goes straight to the trash can where these we use these in the classroom to cut them up to use make projects to make posters with to make all kinds of act do all kinds of activities with but then it also can go home so that parents Guardians can work with this and extend this learning opportunity at home for their students another reason is that there is a huge language arts math and stem connection and we are still We are continuing and planning so that we can be that stem Capital here in Indiana and this is a really good resource to help help us uh get to that along with our stem um classrooms another the final one is that it's it's very coste effective it's a very costeffective science curriculum when we compared it to some of the other ones um that we we took a look at so now comes the fun part so I don't get to teach lessons very much anymore so I want we wanted to do a lesson with you today so at your table you have an example of an experiment that can be done in a third grade classroom so at your tables you should have a cookie you should have a ruler and you should also have a lab uh sheet that could be done in that in a third grade classroom now I'm just kidding I'm not going to make you do this we don't have time for that but I wanted to show you this is one engaging Activity one one week that I looked through this ma this publication that I snipped made a this activity I wrote a lesson that could go for math measurement it could also include it has a writing activity so third grade it's persuasive writing being able to use uh text evidence to explain why this cookie is the best and then vocabulary we see that our students lack some background and and vocabulary and so being able to use this to even strengthen our vocabulary in in this in the the context so this is how we really sneak in Reading instruction vocabulary instruction background knowledge in our science and social studies so I wanted to share one activity with you I won't make you do it a really important feature when we were looking at the curriculum was the opportunity to use this to work on literacy skills all grade levels have been able to use the newspapers to help with reading comprehension strategies such as the main idea and supporting details and encouraging students to to ask questions about what they read those I wonder questions kindergarten also uses the papers to look at site words intermediate grades have used the papers to look at cause and effect relationships and using context clues to determine the meanings of those unknown words students are also able to look at a variety of text features and learn how they assist with learning these are all essential standards that align with the iearn checkpoints at each grade level as well as literacy skills the students will have the opportunity to reinforce and make connections to Concepts they are working on in stem and math and honestly um they're just fun to read they're just they're fun to read now we get down to cost so the total cost for a six-year adoption per student is $48.30 or $86 per student per year through our research and negotiations this is a much lower price than our current science curricular materials and the ones that we um also evaluated as we wrap up this science presentation I would like to highlight one of the comments from our participants um that was on the committee and I think speaks well to approving this adoption science weekly allows different approaches to learn learning reading there's hard copy there's also an online version Hands-On activities to explore like the cookie activity you guys have and the lesson can extend for a whole week to allow for reteaching and extension activities so it is our recommendation that the bcsc school board approv science weekly for our elementary science resource thank you very much thank you what questions do we have questions my only only question is where are my other three cookies because my homework says I need four I got one well I understand but we were going to make it really quick so I didn't get four for you I apologize you can eat the one it's a big one I got a bigger one for you I'll break it into four pieces there you go I'll share I'll share quick question on when when we're doing the curriculum evaluation if I were jog my memory I think it was a year and a half ago we did the math one for elementary I believe like I guess what only the only thing that I didn't see here was how the others compared in the categories and the pluses and Min I believe we had like a chart that said you know obviously this one was more expensive this one was slightly more expensive and like this one brought this benefits I 100% trust Miss 's opinion I'm going back to Taylorville so I totally there and I I believe in I I enjoyed the newsletters when we were there we used to do the news study studies as well so I I'm with you all on that I guess I'm just saying is like going forward we we do these that compare and contrast is helpful just to be able to see what is out there because if I recall the biggest hurdle was we were typically looking at a k through six which cuts off immediately like 40 or 50% of the players because the majority are K through five now so that was the other call out that is correct that is as as well for science a lot some of the resources that we looked at were not a k to six um and so that immediately knocks us off uh some go into a 6 through eight and that's a middle school and it's a completely different um component um and so we can we can get some of that for you uh one of the things I know that when we looked at it I can just speak to you some on this that with science and social studies we really prioritize our reading and math and with science and social studies we also like to allow to to have some opportunity for our teachers to have some creativity for example I taught sixth grade and in sixth grade we study life science and if I had a whole curriculum I would feel very um responsible to teach all of that because I knew it was very costly and I knew that we had vested a lot into that so that then really with our science social studies takes things away like we did um we we dissected Al pellets and we had a whole uh it it matched every it matched all the sixth grade science standards for life science we read a novel that went with that we had our our science was all around life science and we were able to pull in some additional activities and research projects our writing was all on life science and did the AL pellets that was a much cooler thing than reading uh just having a huge consumable book so we look at science and social studies a little bit different to allow for some of that U thematic or some cre ity on our teachers but we we'll look into some of that for you um I I love the weekly newspaper aspect of I mean it looks like a newspaper to me which I think is kind of cool um but there's an online yes aspect too so is it the same thing online so there is an online component and the online component is all of the stories that are here um it can read it to them online um you can make it go faster slower the pace and then a little different online is that after each story after each section there are a few multiple choice questions that you can do online we see a lot of our older grades that with social studies that use the online component a little a little bit more um than than primarily our younger ones and then our our older ones are then using this for different project ideas but they do have access all grades have access to online it can be placed on the smartboards they can listen and disc discuss students can have they have it on their on their Chromebooks they can listen they can use it at home as well um so yes this exact same um exact same articles and and um is there a you might have had this up there I don't remember a Spanish language version yes there is and um I'm curious in terms of science adoption and academic challenge do they adopt this same thing at the same grade level yep they they adopt the same um they adopt the same materials because with this that's the really great thing about this I could take this one publication and turn it into whatever I needed and with some of the grade levels they have additional readings in the teachers manual that comes with it that they come in a box with all of these and then a teachers manual it has additional activities it has project ideas so with this I can scaffold it to whomever um is sitting in front of me uh and maybe do a project or writing activity or an experiment um do posters do all kinds of things with this to scaffold based on the needs of the students that I have and finally when I looked at your presentation earlier I actually did some homework and looked up the Next Generation science standards and one of the things that I think this was new to me but the three-dimensional learning they talked about scientific practices cross cutting Concepts and core ideas yeah so those those changed uh the Next Generation standards we the Indiana adopted those maybe three years ago and our current um I learn our uh students take uh science those are over those Next Generation standards what is really nice about the Next Generation standards is that they are more national standards so it's easier to find Publications that meet those because it's not Indiana specific Indiana we like to be very special and have our own standards a lot of the times but with they with going to the Indiana Next Generation standards they really talk a lot about phenomenons what phenomenons are happening in nature and how do we uh address those how do you learn about those phenomenons in nature and those crosscutting uh aspects that you talked about are really looking at how do those cross into our Ela standards our math standards our our social studies our standards our writing standards so they're kind of bridging all of those things together so we were we were excited with the the Next Generation standard they look very different and a lot of them uh they have a little bit more of a stem um kind of basis to them thank you any other questions okay yeah my daughter graduated last year from East and one of the things I struggled with throughout her entire School career was managing a paper that came home or a Chromebook that was not easy for me to use use and read is there like a it says print but is that the print or is there there's I'd never have understood why we went away from a good old textbook just because a parent the reason why I say that is it makes it easier for the parent if that goes home at the end of the week the parent can engage with the kid nightly daily hopefully the parents are not all will right but um it makes it really hard for those that want to when they they don't have the means or the mechanism or the tool to do that so I understand where you're coming from and I've been in this district for 26 years so I have gone from adoptions where I've taught and it is hardback books they go home I've primarily taught the upper grades and they've gone home and it has been a real shift in the last many years where it's a consumable book it's a workbook type book they we do not have uh the Publishers do not have the good oldfashioned hardback textbooks that we were may be used to uh seeing they are all going to a consumable type book and that's the way that it's going and it's online now one thing that Dr hack has really prioritized in elementary um there has been some wave to go strictly online for for all resources and Dr hack has really prioritized since I've known her uh that elementary students must have print in hand they must have print in hand uh we are not at this point going to where everything is online um where I I live in the Mount Healthy area we did not have very reliable internet so if my students only had internet uh growing you know through these years I have a sophomore at Purdue and a senior in high school this year um our internet is sketchy at best um and is very expensive so she is always prioritize that we must in our elementary have print in hand for the students and for our parents um so that they can have at least a hard copy I like this better than the old textbooks because my son I never saw that workbook until the last day of school when they brought it all home where at least with this uh they you would at least have this and could then reinforce what's happening um so at least this would come home weekly instead of May 23rd so now thank you Dr hack I do I I do appreciate your note just mentioning right now the to me I mean my opinion is no Chromebooks for the little kids make them learn to read I mean how many times have we sat in this room and made a big deal about books one way or another and we push them straight to a computer right we tell them technology is no good no phones in high schools yet we shove computers in front of them as early as possible and they've forgotten kids today how to read a book regardless what's in it thank you thank you Dr hack asked me just to C um I I guess to clarify a couple of things with your question um because as I'm I'm at Taylorville and we have actually been piloting this this year um kind of as it's been a gap year for science adoption um so I I was very interested in it and so we um are piloting this and um so one of the things so they do get a new newspaper every week but during the course of the week so if this is my paper for this week the kids get it on Monday we do different activities with it throughout the week and so it's not just stuck at school it does go back and forth um during the week I might have students do different activities um you know read the second article um highlight the main idea what are the supporting details you know in different colors um those kinds of things and then at the and then at the end of the week we might do some activities where we cut it up sometimes um to make you know kind of like living timelines with the information um in the newspapers those kinds of things but then at the end of the week we're done with this one and then it can go and stay at home and then we get another one but it absolutely can go back and forth each day thank you thank you I'm curious about uh our relationship with the vendor during the six years uh is the the the first science weekly of the Year always exactly the same or are they going to change it up so that's also the really great thing about this product is if there are errors so they I have zoomed with them uh the company uh they've asked me to help them rewrite some of the social studies that was Indiana they rewrote Indiana our Indiana social studies Publications for third and fourth grade so this year the Stu the teachers and the students had updated versions of those that's what's nice about this and not a con a hard consumable book is that these do get updated they do get changed they look at grades uh through they look at each grade uh different years and then they update these and so every every year there could be some changes and so they send us a new updated box with all of the Publications for the year and they also give each teacher a new teachers addition each year because they make updates to that um and so that's why it is very consumable too because they make updates to it they change the Publications um and then we have a new updated one and that's part of the the cycle that we get the updated ones how long how long have we been doing the social studies under the same one so the social studies I know there so I think three years this is our third year with social studies I believe um or fourth year with social studies I think it was the first year I took this off this this position um so we have been around four years with the social studies three or four years with the social studies they are fantastic to work with they are a family-owned business um and they they they're just really a great a great company to work with and they negotiate um pricing with us so you is on me right into my question was and I I don't know I'm sure we time these up so the board doesn't have to approve multiple curriculums at the same time but the way you describe social studies and science right you're wanting flexibility the ability to scaffold up or down and not be structured to such a uh strict curriculum and if if we have that across multiple I'm assuming you saw that similarity with the other providers as well does it make sense to possibly put science and social studies together on a renewal cycle in the future to leverage scale here for negotiations and then essentially come back and say to the studies weekly like hey instead of the six years of science let's do six years from this point forward of social studies and Science and see where that price may or may not lie so actually when we went to negotiations with them um we we get a multi-year discount because we do a six-year adoption we also got a another discount because we already have one of the products okay so that was one of our um points back to them we are we we do a six-year adoption with you we don't do typically they have one two year they go out to fiveyear on their scale and we say we want a sixy year so they give us an even bigger discount and then they give us even a more discount because we have one of their products already okay and I told Gina she could date herself she used this product as one of her first years of teaching so she knows the power of this product they're one wonderful to work with it was in black and white it was on a tablet no uh so we really do find the power of this product and we know kids love it and I'm sure Sean could stand up here and tell you how engaging the the sixth graders are with this product and and it's just been it's been good the social stence has been amazing and now the science will be too very good thank you thank you Dr thank you Dr bosan T fact to follow I'm not going to try and beat that I was going to make some joke about Dr hack doing my presentation but I couldn't come up with anything clever so I won't good evening everyone thank you for allowing me a few minutes of time uh I'll be brief and and happy to answer questions you may have um the slide that's in front of you is a is a current project budget update um as was mentioned last time we were together Schmidt and Johnson I think you're up to speed on um Central Middle School you have an item for approval tonight to allow us to receive bids um for uh the uh small bit of work at Central Middle School that basically is includes updates to the library the inclusion of a maker space a wellness area for the therapists and other support Personnel at Central Middle School and that number also includes all new furniture and Technology throughout the building north side and north bid opening is next week a week from tomorrow that we're keeping a close eye on uh the new Elementary bid opening in early May um East and Smith and North and North Side by the way those are those are listed together because they're combined in the same contract to the construction manager um East and Smith we opened that bid um a week two weeks ago tomorrow um and it came back in a little bit high so we had tentatively planned on bringing that to your uh plates tonight for approval but we're still going through that review value engineering and working with um Dr Vol at at at Smith and all of our partners um to get that number where it needs to be so we'll bring that to you here when we're ready to make sure that's right Mount Healthy Elementary you'll notice that difference of the number in the bottom and that is an estimate uh Mr Schultz is ringing in the back of my ear because he'll remember when we talked about this well over a year ago for $8 million on Mount Healthy Mr Schultz told me that's not enough and I did not agree disagree with Mr Schultz I just if you may recall me mentioning at the time if it's not enough we will adjust budgets so Mount Healthy is done correctly so that is what we're looking at now uh this is a slide to represent some options that CSO has given us in terms of how we want to approach that building I won't read this to you but basically left-and side some minor to moderate scope change and then option two on the right hand side significant change so we you've heard me say more than twice that we intend to get that building correct and we still intend to get that building correct so that scope will change um that number on Mount Healthy is an estimate as I mentioned and as we get closer to time um we'll we'll adjust that number and bring you up to speed with that and of course CSO when we're ready uh they will be here to present that floor plan and everything to you as we have with the other projects uh the two items you have for approval in front of you tonight is uh to allow us permission to receive bids for um to submit an RFP for construction manager as Constructor for Mount Healthy um again you may recall we had intend originally intended that to be a general contractor project but for the scope of what we're looking at now we think it's best served to be a construction manager as our other projects have been um so you have that and then of course the permission to receive bids for um the the small bit of work at Central Middle School couple of other items in the bottom there we have ground bre breaking ceremonies coming up at Smith Elementary and Northside Middle School and the dates listed there uh you have a calendar invite from board members already on that and that's certainly open to the public as well we'll have students and staff there and Mr ster thank you for mentioning the df's work with the um the naming of the new elementary school I don't have this on my slide that I'll mention that um this week we will release that survey for the community to help us um give feedback on naming of that new Elementary School on the west side of town so that that will as you mentioned Mr sener that will come back to the board for approval but we're excited for that survey to be released this week to allow the community to begin to give feedback and um options as we consider naming of the the new school in the west side of town so happy to answer any questions you may have for the design approach from M healthy I'm assuming similar to the other processes collection of you know teachers administrators parents to gain insights of which option is best to seek yes yeah very much so yep I just had one question about the Mount Healthy slide pretty certain I know the answer but just want to be absolutely certain on the fire suppression system the sprinkler system I'm assuming it is fully it is intact the way that it is nothing is missing there's no room for improvement there this would just be if we add additional space that wouldn't have that that's correct yeah good question that's correct so so the fire suppression um system is really relative to how much work going to do so when you start doing moderate and heavy Renovations then you um by by code you're required to update those items as well so thank you okay thank you okay now we are on to the public comments section of our um meeting for people who may not be aware if you want to speak at a school board meeting um you can come in here at the administration building there's always a blue sheet on the table when you walk in you can sign up with your name and and you'll be provided three minutes to address the board um in terms of of how we like to conduct those treatments um we do ask that everybody refrain from using names of individuals students staff members or specific titles that's kind of the same thing we want to make sure all comments stay respectful um if you have a person that has spoken just before you and they've made your point you can pass if you'd like to or you can come up and add that's up to you um we will have a timer over there for 3 minutes to make sure that you can stay on on um time and then I would ask the audience for no cheers deers Etc we just want to make sure that everybody feels comfortable coming up and speaking in front of an audience we know that's very difficult for people okay so the first name I have on the list is Megan Johnson please no good evening can you hear me yep okay some great things that we've talked about tonight but I do have some questions that I'd like to ask the board um are you straight lesbian or bisexual pansexual demisexual or asexual are you undecided or not sure are you non-binary or consider yourself a third gender do you feel these questions are really any of my business I don't if you answered yes are you aware that the same survey you are giving to our seventh and eighth grade students on March 10th in seven days ask these same questions why are we even ask asking questions regarding sexuality to students that are below the age of consent that's a problem are you aware that this same survey is probing students to report if teachers are teaching that race plays a part and who is successful this is in incredibly sensitive and quite frankly insulting to members including in my family I believe this school corporation should should examine the material you are handing out to our students a little closer because it appears you are in violation of the new changes that have already been made at the Department of Education thank you thank you Miss Johnson uh next I have Don Hancock oh that's okay no problem no problem okay and um and then on the list is Kyle Ole good evening uh first I want to start by reading three sentences from your guys' policy the school board is a committed to providing a safe positive productive and nurturing education environment for all students the board encourages the promotion of positive interpersonal relations between members of the school Community bulling Behavior towards a student whether by other students or staff or third parties is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated in my entire time in high school middle school and Elementary School I have never been bullied as much as my daughter has in the first two years of her Central Middle School career career she has been demeaned put down disregarded by teachers and staff and bullied by teachers and staff I have brought it to the attention of the principal and several other students and nothing has been done so what are we going to do to get this rectified and it's not only my daughter that has been subject to The Bullying other classmates have been subjected to bullying and one instance she was hit by child and told to go sit down that she deserved it that is not okay and that is a disgrace Upon Our educational system that's all I have thank you Mr Ole we're going to move on to to request for approval thank you Mrs Welden under old business tonight I have simply one request for the approval of the minutes from the February 3rd regular school board meeting as well as the February 8th executive session request approval of item 6A as presented I move to approve line item 6A is presented second thank you Mr Schultz and Mr Glick any questions or comments from the team okay I have a motion in a second to approve item 6A all those in favor please say I I all those opposed please say nay motion carries 7 Z thank you under new business this evening we have items 7A through 7g uh the normal approvals of supplemental contracts field trips and leaves School re school fundraisers as well as claims and payroll for the March third docket of just over $1.5 million and two payrolls in February February 7th and 21st of just over 7.7 million and then under uh items e through f um items f and g are sorry e through G um items f and g are the two approvals that Dr Boseman mentioned before item e is the literacy achievement grant information uh we've sent to the board a couple of times on that over the last month or so so this is only the second year for that Grant and that Grant provides uh from the state provides stiens to teachers who serve students in grades K through third grade I should say correct myself and say staff so teachers and staff who serve students in kindergarten through third grade and the stiens um would go to 180 teachers 164 um classified staff members um and this this grant comes directly from the state and passes through directly to those staff members a request approval of items 7A through 7g as presented I move that we approve items 7A through 7g under new business second thank you Mr nelan Mr major any questions or comments from the team on any of those items I I've done this before I just like I like noting it um first as I read it the first four field trips were completed prior to today for this approval and eight out of the 12 fundraisers started before this meeting so it's just I just like to highlight that the approvals late so so so noted thank you I have a question for Mr mcy do I need to withdraw my vote for item e based off of my conflict of interest explain explain your conflict of interest for me so conflict of interest my wife is a uh she is a TA and under classified staff they she would be subject to possibly getting a stien so would I need to withdraw my vote for that based on you filed a dis disclosure form at the start of the Year correct based on the way the statute is written is likely not technically a conflict of interest when that form gets filed however I think our board has generally abstain from voting on those where there might be an appearance of a conflict so you would just not vote on any of without you okay okay any other questions or comments okay so I have a motion in a second to approve um 7 a through G as presented all those in favor please say I I all those opposed please say nay no Mr Glick abstain so motion passes 60 good evening okay good evening board the 15 Human Resources recommendations consist of five appointments five resignations and five leaves of absence I request that you please approve the personnel recommendations as presented I move to approve line items 8A as presented second thank you Mr Schultz and Mr nelan all those in favor of approving 8A as presented please say I I I I all those opposed please say nay motion carries 70 thank you the additional Human Resources recommendations this evening consist of two recommendations I request that you please approve the the additional Human Resources recommendations as presented I move for approval of 8 B at this time thank you Mr Glick a second thank you Mr Nan any questions or concerns all those in favor of approving items 8 B please say I I all those opposed say nay motion carries 70 thank you board input um we'll start down at Mr major all right sorry about this this is going to take a little while but uh I reached out to Dr Phillips earlier this week and uh you know I just was thinking that we do a really good job of acknowledging Sports and teams and individuals that participate in activities uh when they place at the state level but we don't do probably enough to recognize uh All State academic uh achievements and so it's one thing to be really good at a sport but it's also a little bit greater to um Excel on your uh with your Sporter activity and uh be recognized across the state as uh academic achiever so um I'm going to go through this real quick this is for fall Sports so for East High School uh football Cam Cameron Heron girls cross country Elanor Dixon boys cross country Lauren Westerfield Boys Tennis Tyler Ernst volleyball Raha Logan Kimberly CRS Jenna Thompson Addison Emery boy socer Jonathan Silva Eli Ostrom John Ruck Brady wilty Ian scha Isaac going girl soccer Sophie Glick Emma Christie Cadence Zer Joe Conrad Megan me going Paige ly ly ker uh cherylyn Rivas apologize if I made any errors with the names uh Columbus High Columbus North High School girls golf Cara Bon Lindsay Hartwell girls cross country Macy Eaton Katie Frasier Emma Glenn Jones Kylie wolf boys cross country Cole Stevens Neil White Drew jacobe Johnny klouse Ben soda Eli soda Jace Works Eli ritesman girls soccer this is a lot here it's probably the whole team Hayden Bigler Amelia Corney Anna Hallstead Caitlyn cadus Allison kohh housee Rachel Merritt Brooklyn Pendleton Gabby Revel Libby Richards Gabby Spurgeon Paige Terry and uh Norse football team Jay simmit Bryce Harman Jackson haston Jack Johnson OE Kibler Sam Rino Jose Ramirez and Luke Russell um all those kids if you think about the effort that they put forth um to again Excel on a field uh on a court in a classroom um that's all exceptional work so I just want to congratulate them and uh hopefully we can do something uh for winter sports in the coming month or so um to recognize some winter sports athletes and and uh activities as well thank you thank you for taking the time to do that y that's really great um I just want to send good thoughts and uh good luck and gratitude to the teachers who are testing with IAD this week I'm sure there's a lot of nerves nerves happening um I also want to wish coach brandom and his students good luck as they had to Purdue on March 15th um for the math count state finals uh it's good to recog as student achievement so I I'm glad we had Lily Davis here this evening appreciate Mr major and Miss Lloyd uh pointing out the students that are achieving success uh I'm particularly thankful for the amount of time we're able to spend tonight um listening to the data and the strategies in the cabinet reports and the fact that we had a lot of uh teachers and staff involved in the presentations uh makes it more meaningful to me so thank you for putting those those on the agenda and thanks to the cabinet members for getting those reports together uh I love my stem work so I would like to give a shout out to the robotics teams within our school district um five teams from Central and two teams from Smith have qualified for the state competition on March 22nd team central cyborgs is ranked 26th out of 436 Indiana middle school teams which is just amazing and team SuperSonics which is Smith it's ranked 16th out of 738 elementary schools the top 18 teams in each division between Elementary Middle School get invited to Dallas for a world competition so pretty remarkable work by the teachers parents kids that are um enjoying this activity I also want to express thanks for the presentations tonight um they were they were all great and tied in with what we're trying to accomplish um along those lines I would love to see something similar to what we saw with IED um in terms of predicting our graduation rate maybe from we finished first semester and maybe how we're doing there and also something that um that Logan mentioned earlier the new high school graduation requirements with Pathways I don't think we've seen a presentation on that and that certainly ties in with our goal of high school graduation rates so sometime down the road I would like to learn more about those at a board meeting um and my other two things from the Friday notes um Miss Lloyd already mentioned the north side math counts but I'm going to throw out the student names here the team M and I'm I'm G to be bold here in doing this the team members are vavi pina um Anand Nila adve ano and Alicia Yang and they scored a perfect 10 out of of 10 on the team round which is one of the four parts of that contest um I asked uh well let me also thrw in um this wasn't in the Friday notes the Columbus North um math team is currently third in the state on the Indiana Math League behind Park tutor and Carmel with one more round to go that's a monthly six round contest um I bring that up because I asked Mr brandham if he was the only coach or if someone else helped him and he said actually he takes the top 10 students from North and they go to Northside once a week after school to work with the Northside math counts team and I thought that was a phenomenal idea um and the other thing from the Friday notes and it's been mentioned a couple times but um kudos to CSA new tech CSA fodrea and CSA Lincoln on the the names for the new elementary school I don't know if everyone's had a chance to read them but when I read through I thought oh this is it and then I read the next one oh this is better oh wait this one's good it's like I am not going to fill out that form because I don't think I could pick one but but they the the work that they put into that and the and the way they presented those names with rationale is was just really really impressive well some of mine have been taken uh so mine will be short I guess I'll Focus On Athletics because academics have been pretty heavy uh first off though I will like to say congratulations the Davis and it's amazing to see the things that she's done I've known her and her family for a long time and they are phenomenal family um so it's great to see her succeeding as we move further down the road uh this week is sectionals for basketball so good luck to those teams uh swimming Had State this last week and uh good luck to gymnastics as they're in the state tournament and next meeting we get to see a couple of the north wrestlers that uh got up on the podium because I have't two weeks ago I believe so U I may sound a little horse I was screaming and yelling all weekend with Central wrestling uh we got second down at Heritage Hills tournament it's one of the toughest tournaments in Southern Indiana so it was pretty good and uh this week Wednesday is north side versus Central duel uh at North side and then North Side will also be hosting the tri count wrestling tournament so if you want to see some good competitive wrestling as it continues to GR grow uh we have a couple phenomenal females that are wrestling as well it's great to see so yeah and when you're at the end nothing's left so you just kind of repeat what everybody else has said but I want to emphasize I think Lily was a great example of how we pair needs within bcsc with passions and abilities that they can demonstrate through their senior projects so uh commend Mr Bernett or whoever connected her to that situation so that was great um I I want to plus one to what uh Mr Nan said on the presentations these are exactly what we were wanting to see and I was also going to ask for one on the uh Indiana High School diplomas in the update there um I will say thank you on the Mount Healthy piece um I think in all of my tours of schools that was the most frustrating and um right now I do not have my hearing eggs on because I'm waiting for them to get back to me from a warranty repair but when I walk through that building I could at all times hear three teachers talking at the same time and there was no way I could have listened so I I commend the team going through that and I mean we'll find the budget I think at the end of the day the kids have to learn and be able to hear and then I have a couple followups with you Dr Phillips uh from the public comment okay one thing I forgot we're talking about IAD testing I think our high schools also have sat testing this week so just lots of thoughts with the kiddos who are probably stressed out the teachers who are watching them be stressed out and administering tests it's just a big week so big breakfast lots of hugs hextra sleep would be would be good to help our kiddos perform well um upcoming dates our next regular board meeting is March 31st 2025 it will be at Columbus North High School rather than in this building so we're we'll be in the cafeteria there on March 31st and that will be a very busy meeting I don't know if they're going to bring those pies or not but those are the top 10 from East High School with uh that would look like pies I'm not 100% sure if that's the case or not but they um will'll be celebrating a lot of large groups that at that meeting as well as the following meeting in April uh prior to that meeting in April we've tedly scheduled a tour uh for the board members of Schmidt's renovated space and um Good Luck to the two basketball teams tomorrow we know them both north and east play one another in the first round of sectional I think there's some conspiracy theories floating around since almost every town that has two high schools in it drew each other in the first round so I'm not saying that there's conspiracy but it sure seems like you know where there's smoke there's fire um look for that survey in the community about those um those uh names for the 12th Elementry Brad hope you put that in the paper prominently so everyone can click on a link and get to it and then um last and most importantly on my mind as we enter into breaks um I always think about our students safety so U families enjoy the spring break coming up here in two weeks um travel safely and um students that are staying home driving um take care and come back to us that Monday after break safely thank you okay with that meeting adjourn thank you everyone

the United States of America and to the Republic for it stands one nation God indivisible with liy and justice for all is 6 o' I'm calling the March 3rd 2025 project hearing calling order purp hearing uh the next item on agenda is for the board to hold a project hearing on the proposed project if you are interested in speaking at the hearing please make sure you have signed the sign in sheet at the back of the room which which should include in your name and address after a presentation by Administration and its advisers will be an opportunity for the public to make comments about the project at the hearing we will ask that each person limit their comments to 3 minutes and the the top topic is limited to the proposed projects under consideration notices of this hearing was published as legally required at this time I'll ask the bong Council to explain the purpose of this hearing hi good evening my name is Kristen mclen I'm from Ice Miller um under Indiana code anytime a school corporation wishes to spend more than a million dollars on a specific building it must first hold a public hearing that sets forth the maximum amount to be borrowed for each project and that's why we're here tonight so I'm going to ask and we will know now hear from our superintendent about the process of determining and communicating the projects community and the needs of the projects yeah thank you um we have uh two projects that that we are proposing in the resolutions tonight um one of them is the building or resolution a which is the back uh projects with Van veren um and then to complete the HVAC projects at the high school so I think 2021 when we did the high school bond project um we did the majority of the high school building what we did not do was the science wing and the main gy the ox gy and the weight room um and so when we are are looking at our priority list um obviously van be has risen to the top of all of those priorities it is a very dated system um and they they are having and have had multiple issues with that HVAC system at vanir and um and we have decided to also take care of the science Wing um and the gyms and the weit room at the high school to complete that HVAC project as well um resolution B is an athletic um site project or improve athletic improvements um we have not done any upgrades to our athletic facilities in um quite some time we noticed that our football field is in pretty poor shape and um needed to be addressed at the same time our track needs at a minimum resurfacing um it may need replaced if they get in there and find out that it needs replaced um we also only have one restroom that is at one end at the school end of the property um which is has limited restrooms for the public to use we would like to be able to expand that opportunity and build another restroom um and add on a locker room and a concession stand so we could repurpose the current concession stand um we would like to upgrade our our lights to LED um for efficiency and then we have a scoreboard that could use a little TLC um so we're also looking at the scoreboard in that project we have communicated with the public um the last uh three board meetings um on the last board meeting we had uh Performance Services um give us a scope of a general scope and range of both of those projects um we also had ice Miller our bond Council here to talk about the process and um we had Ste here um to talk about financial impact for the district we will now hear from steel Nicholas Company Incorporated um about how the pro proposed projects will be financed as well as information about the effect of the typical property tax code hello good evening Lous people uh we serve as Bond underwriter for the school corporation this presentation is going to look extremely familiar uh extremely similar to the the presentation from a couple weeks ago no real changes from what we talked about a couple weeks ago please stop me point with questions so the first slide here is just the school corporation outstanding debt you can see from 2024 to 2025 you had some debt retire um you'll have some additional debt fall off in 2026 and then one final payment on the 2023 Geo bond in 2027 at that point the only bonds that will be outstanding are the 2014 bonds which we're actually looking to refinance and we'll talk about that here in a second as well so this slide shows the school corporation's current uh tax rate components that make that up in Gray is the operations Fund in red is the operating referendum for 10 cents and then in blue is The Debt Service rate and that corresponds to The Debt Service payments that was that were on the prior charts over the last couple years in 2023 and 24 the school corporations maintained a total tax rate of 5787 2025 and get to just below uh 52 cents and our goal was structuring the these Bond issues of this project is to make sure we're staying at or below that 5787 that Brown County Schools have been at to work so first is the building project the hard and saw construction cost of 6 million that matches the highend of what Performance Services showed at the board meeting a couple weeks ago we also have cons uh cost of issuance in there of 165,000 so a total borrowing of 6,165 and then in light blue is the site project layered on there uh the highend there from from that uh presentation a couple weeks ago was 650,000 again cost of issuance of 165,000 for a total bond issue of 6, 215,000 you'll see that again like I said the goal is to make sure we're maintaining that 5787 total tax rate but also leaving capacity in the future knowing that this is not going to take care of all your needs for the next 20 years there's always on needs uh for a school corporation so you'll see that you have some capacity again beginning in 2028 if you so desire to to do that and these are just preliminary estimates on where the tax rate could be we can shorten that payment up uh if needed but this just gives you an idea to make sure that we're staying at that uh total tax rate goal but also leaving some capacity for the future so the legal parameters uh this will be what's in the resolution the first three slides are we just walked through the total borrowing amount then broken down between cost of issuance and hard project costs estimated interest rates of 2 to 6% I'm sure if you pay attention to the news it's been pretty volatile in the market recently uh so if you sold the bonds today you're at about three and a half to 4% uh rate currently and then the final maturity of January 15 2036 that is the maximum that we're that we're setting up these resolutions for you saw in the previous chart is actually a 10year term you we're trying to make sure we're protecting the school corporation and putting in conservative estimates uh for these for these maximums and then the last two slides you'll see there the one on the bottom is the net tax rate increase over the 2023 and 24 rate of 5787 that is zero and then the one right above that is the net tax rate increase over the 25 rate which again that dipped a little bit in 2025 the goal is to go back up to that 0 5787 so it would be an increase of just under 6 compared to the 25 lastly is the refunding analysis for the 2014 bonds this is just a simple refinancing of your outstanding debt there are there there is a $3,545 th000 of outstanding principal on those bonds their final maturity of Jan 1535 so about 10 years left uh the average interest rate on that is just under 4% if we sold the bonds today we have a 31 6% so even after factoring in uh professional fees cost of issuance that gets you to Savings of about 75,000 so I think it's next meeting that will actually be authorized action be taken on this U but again they just want to bring that up again make sure that that it's on your radar if interest rates decrease that means savings goes up for the school just like you would if if so that that's all that I have on the project and happy to answer any questions a question for you l and this may not be something that the blue bars um that particular Bond do you know what projects that covered out of curiosity know chance 2014 B I'm guessing it's the change the gym and the wrestling room do that sound we'd have to go back and and look um that actually I know that I I student taught in that building in 2014 and so that's why I believe that gym was finished at that time I can find the paperwork it was just one of those curiosity questions so sorry that's the only reason I can tell you what you is that was before I was even thinking about we will now open the public hearing remember if you would like to speak please sign in and the sheet will be located back there as I mentioned earlier we'll ask you to state your name and address limited comments propos projects and financing keep any comments to three minutes and avoid being repetitive as possible may I have the I've got them Mr Lewis Jo 679 or 46 IND um duh you said a couple weeks ago that you had issues with the marbles going down the creek I have more issue with the chemicals we're putting on that field that field is not engineered to be a football field it's a field all those chemicals that we put on the this year I think wor over 300 gallons of chemicals just to try and do something field I feel worse about putting that into the Creed than I do about putting Mar into it the turf marbles I'm sorry um what's the bigger threats for our community that or the marbles um many the community many in the community have expressed issues with taxes associated with this advancement the taxes do not go up but with this impairment allows our most us to host athletic tournaments ban Color Guard activities semi football games other among other outside items that I have not in my vision but those are all things that I know we have not been able to host because we did not use the field which brings us to my next there have been many comments about how great the field used to be the reason it was so good is because we couldn't use it we were told we couldn't have athletic activities on that field we couldn't have outside activities on that field we couldn't have practices on that field that's why it looked Immaculate every year I for one was told numerous times we could not do this we could not do this we can't do anything with that because it was not accessible yeah it's going to look imaculate if you don't use it um the field will need some significant work significant work either way whether we do it to improve the field or we just bring it up to some kind of standard that's healthy why not go to the next level and do what we need to do um this field will be accessible to all for our community and upgraded Tech allows our uh community members to have the ability to walk run jog on the facility that's much better on the joints what we have currently is not um the field becomes a safe location for all available ages marching band soccer football lacrosse field hockey whatever it's all up open um the upgrades in lighting will lower the cost of oper ation while also giving the community the school the opportunity to set the mood for the stadium imagine setting finishing off Fourth of July fireworks with red white and blue lights instead of just the white lights or if we're getting behind our community blue and yellow on our field to support whatever activity we're doing um upgrading the locker room concessions restroom are gives everyone an opportunity to do more we currently have to walk 200t to get our pad supplies s seconds we need to upgrade we need to be ADA Compliant we need to do everything everything it needs to be um everything is with your control and I believe that you're going to choose the right thank you thank you thank you Mr B I didn't bring a bunch of notes but I got you I really just wanted to come and speak not so much about the Fe because the field you guys have a decision that's a great decision it'll help our community in many ways I want to kind of dis funct the fact the theory that football might not be a supportting program in our Corporation for the foreseeable future you know and I've worked at really small schools that had football I've worked at bigger schools that had football football's thriving in this community it has a buzz like no other and I'm not I'm not pointing fingers at people in the past but thing that probably just hasn't had enough support of is just people taking the right approach to give kids that opportunity to see what the sport of football will do I've coached it my whole life so I'm biased to what the benefits are but it is the by far the best team sport that that can Galvanize a group of young men and women a big group of kids that can come together whether you're winning or losing in football the joys that you have are so much more rewarded when you've just had a fellowship each other I've been to every school the last week and promoted some football camps that I have coming up and I can't tell you how many kids were just that buzzed and that excited about coming and doing something different so as a football coach my Approach is a lot different than maybe others have been and I really feel like when our program um we start back up in this next fall and our opportunities come for kids we're going to have a lot of kids joining this program that hasn't been that way May in the past for whatever reasons but all I can control is where we are in our current situation and you know as I said before football will be the sport but this this field will give so many more kids in our community an opportunity to do something that they haven't had that much interest in doing whether it is football whether it's soccer whether it's any other kind of extracurricular activity you know I I I'm excited about this opportunity just to use it for our physical education classes you know you know where I yes we were stuck in the waight room a lot of our time but we can go out and do excuse me some more things on an allpurpose field that doesn't just hone in on one specific thing so that was the real reason I wanted to speak was that the football program is thriving it is going to even see much more success than what we've had this year I'm not a guy that looks at wins and losses as determining whether or not your season's successful I look at numbers and I look at enthusiasm and there's really a lot of Avenue we are just now changing our youth league so we're going and play in a completely different new Youth League that we really think kids are going to be successful in parents are going to buy into what we're doing with our youth league and ultimately we going to give ourselves a better chance to be successful turfield will be great to do that he'll sell it to the other communities that want to come and see what kind of things that we can bu kids so that's all I ask you know the the saying I had was in fill of dreams they say you build it they will come I believe if you build it they will stay and kids won't be leaving our school nearly as often as they have been for the reason that we've took a of Pride and thank you thank you Mr thank you Mr gab uh first of all thank you the board for allowing this project to come this far listening to comments from the public um Brian Gabriel a former student alumni from Brown County uh former football coach football player even the marching band as well um so uh back in the dark days of 2002 one of the projects we actually completed was the we room so date myself but if you remember that 2002 we were making the first investment in our athletic facilities to create Buzz around our programs um I think the football field would be a very positive thing again the turf field we should call it generica because it's not just for football but for other events Sports marching band um so really I wanted to come and voice my support um my wife and I are lifetime residents of Brown County always will be um and really just I'm encouraged to see the continued investments in our community our kids facilities and schools I was very fortunate to be at Brown County alumni go to a great College and I feel like Brown County really set me off on a good path to do that so I'm here very passionate about what you all are considering doing with the field just to give opportunities as coach Bell said to you know students looking for that place to fit in whether it's football soccer band anything like that so I'll keep it short but thank you for your time and allowing us to speak and uh fully support the field and hope you will proceed today so thank you very much thank you uh John tan uh 2357 Grandma Barnes Road um this my goal here tonight to join in the excitement for this potential athletic project um I wanted to share my perspective as a Brown County uh youth basketball and soccer coach um this Athletic Facility investment IFI this community and I think that's that alone is amazing right and while opinions have differed uh this project has ignited The Passion of the community parents coaches uh board members and administrators and that's where a successful program starts as passion and that's how you maintain a successful program um through this it has prompted the formation of athletic steering uh committee Emily thank you for doing that I think that that is important um it is my hope that the current Athletic Facility project and the renewed Community passion will lead to more strategic long-term planning for our Kade through 12 athletic programs and less silent decision making uh it will lead to datadriven decisions to retain and attract student athletes also I My Hope Is that through this we will um understand how to Future proof our Capital Investments and limit our liabilities well I'm here today advocating that we approve this funding I also have some concerns with the current project plan um the need to align our capital investment with our operational capacity for the current the current Turf project to increase the maintenance complexity with an operation that is already struggling um the potential for flooding frequency and the inability to secure warranties or insurance I believe puts the future of further athletic Investments at risk with a very high potential for unplanned costs in replacing the turf field um furthermore I think it is important to make this note um I thought it was it's good that we're looking at other sports like lacrosse and soccer soccer is the most popular team sport in Brown in among Brown County youths right now and it is worth noting that the current footprint of our track is very narrow if you compare Indian Creek Seymour Bloomington and Columbus only two of those schools share soccer and football on the same field it's Columbus East and indan Creek and both of those tracks are 20 to 35 ft wider than our current track so I think it would be important if we're making this level of investment to plan for the future plan for our our soccer um thank you thank you thank you Mr Sher how's it going how are you I didn't type anything so we're just going to wing it um my name is Brian Sher 6210 State 46 East um I come here um I've been in charge and ran the youth football program for the last six years I've also have helped John coach basketball over the years I've coached soccer I've coached uh girls volleyball last year so name it I pretty well coached it in this community so um but I guess my point uh where I want to come to is is twofold um one over the last couple years particularly last year um during youth football we traveled all over the place Edinburgh Columbus and E Creek last year my what we call the senior team or The A Team when we went to Columbus there was four sixth graders that Liv in Brown County that were playing on that team when we went to Indian Creek there was six Brown County Citizens that were playing on that team and I know there is a financial attachment to each student when they leave this community and I know that that Financial attachment goes to that other school district when they do leave this community and I know um my friend my my children's friends have all had students leave and they're leaving for athletics and you whether you approve this or not um I'm here to tell you that the School Board needs to take a stance do you have to invest in in athletics or you're going to continue to lose students I've seen it I've coached for the last eight years and I have seen my kids have lost probably 20 friends across my three kids that have all left and they have left specifically for athletics no other reasons they they've moved from this community and some of them still live in this community and they take their kids else um the second thing I was going to bring up is they talked about the maintenance part of of the field last year there were holes throughout that field throughout that field and quite frankly I'm shocked that the school has not been sued for someone breaking not necessar one of our kids although it could happen another opposing team you know we would when doing intros we would have parents stand in different spots so none of our kids would run through there and break their ankles before the game and Mrs boink would attest to that because she's one of the parents that stood there um so I know that the field is is atrocious I mean we we travel we played on seven different fields last year Brown County is not now the only School in that League that did not does not have a tur field um and because of that we W unable to host playoffs stuff like that which is all a way to generate money not only for your school corporation but your Community as a whole that brings in tourism that brings in so forth so on so thank you for your time and um like I said I just want to see an investment in in the community as a whole but the students themselves thank you thank you uh anybody else didn't fill out a piece of paper you're supposed to fill one of these out if you want to talk okay I would like to thank everybody that participated in the hearing we appreciate your time and from the projects in the future of our community please note that this is just the first step in the legal process the board will continue to work with the administration and its professionals to look for efficiencies to conserve tax dollars while meeting educational needs sorry um you will have several resolutions to Comm tonight um the first resolution is the project resolution which again we talked about at the beginning anytime a school proposes to spend more than a million dollars it must first hold this project hearing so the first resolution is the project resolution that is approving um the buildings project can I have a motion to approve the project resolution for building project I just want to reiterate again that any decision that's made here tonight is going after the bond money correct not specifics of the detail projects so the approvals tonight will give you the ability to issue the bonds if you so choose okay I make a motion I'll second any discussion V duck yes Carol yes Vicky yes Amy yes jice yes the second resolution you have in your packet is the project resolution for the site project again contains the maximums um for the borrowing and again it is because we're spending more than a million dollars on this project do I have a motion for the project resolution for the site project move to adopt the resolution for the site project second second vote discussion oh discussion my bad vote D yes Carol yes Vicky yes Amy yes jise yes the next resolution you have is um what's called a reimbursement resolution this is required under federal law and what it does is it gives um the school corporation the ability to pay for initial upfront fees before the bonds are issued from your operations or rainy day fund and then once the bonds are issued that you can then reimburse those funds but you have to have this in in order to reimburse can I have a motion to accept the reimbursement resolution I move to adopt the reimbursement resolution any discussion any discussion let's vot Doug yes Carol yes Vicky yes am yes yes and this will be the of the project hearing 29 now I'd like to call to order 629 the regular Board of school trustees public session before we do that I just want to thank all of you for coming and being engaged um I really respect all the coaches and telling us what you think and you know I I don't play on the field so I really appreciate all the information I I appreciate having kids here that's awesome seeing the process work so um I we've heard lots of we've so many people about this and I just I have to agree that I think that it's really kind of unified folks we're talking about things we're talking about what we should do and I'm just really excited about the future so thank you all yeah I I would just add that um John I appreciate your your words I I think it is a blessing that everybody has come and and and come out right to in unity um I I do think this athletic Ambassador uh steering committee whatever we want to call it is going to be a really great thing um a lot of people have expressed interest in it um again it's not an exclusive group so any of you know somebody that would love to be a part of it um believe they would be a great addition to that team please just reach out to me um I I I just think it's it is the Silver Lining it's a blessing that's come out of all of this so I appreciate that yeah I'm excited about where we go from here so again I do think that's really kind of started the the ball rolling on on what the options are and what we what we can do in the future so we're excited now I'm going to officially call to order thank you all for coming okay someone is Tak [Laughter] do we have any modifications to the agenda uh we do we have a consent agenda item personnel and it is the transfer um helmsburg elementary school special education par professional Le dinor to helmsburg elementary school general education teacher that's effective February 27th 2025 do I have a motion to accept so discussion yes Carol yes Vicky yes yes do we have any recognition of visitors motion carries my we have any recognition visitors comments from the audience don't have any discussion items and I have a motion to approve the minutes of February we don't have a presentation we have any discussions can I have a motion to approve the minutes of February 18th move to approve minutes from February 18th any discussion V Doug yes Carol yes Vicky yes Amy yes yes needed item the recation to approve out ofate F trip history Club to St Louis March 21st through the 23rd 2025 do I have a motion to accept I move that we accept the out of state field trip to St L I'll second discussion what are we going to St Louis for what's not to I don't know what the arch the're to city museum museum Des by arit and then we're going to Forest Park where there's I don't know six different museums Museum of History to an aquarium to all kinds of things you getting the zoo yes the zoo that you yes the zoo all kinds things options any more discussion dou yes yes Vicky yes Amy yes yes I have the recommendation to approve a donation the amount of $17 from County Board of realators for homb elementary for which for students to approve the amount of to second second any discussion thank you yes v d yes Carol yes Vicky yes am yes J yes motion carries I have the recommendation to approve the donation in amount of $1 15142 from Supply account approve donation of 15142 second second any discussion yeah than we love Kroger yes Carol yes Vicky yes Amy yes jice yes motion Carri recommendation for Emily Tracy to attend Ted 2025 and Vancouver April 7th through the 11th do I have a motion to accept yes do second any discussion yeah this is um these were funds that were left over from the 3E Grant so I just want you to know those were Grant funds any more discussion dou yes yes Vicky yes yes yes motion carries I the recommendation for Trac The Academy of Arts commission for opportunities After High School in Boston April 14th 15 2025 do I have a motion to accept Mo to approve second any discussion yeah this is also being paid for by the Academy of Arts and Sciences um if you remember I was invited to be a part of this commission for opportunities After High School um it is a national platform and Incredibly grateful and honored to to be a part of that but the academy is paying for this not our County Schools any more discussion vote do yes car yes Vicky yes Amy yes yes motion carries the ECA positions for the 2425 school year at Brown County High School the junior class sponsors rer Jenny Bowen and Betsy Harman it will be split equally between we also have the ELA academic coach Cassie pus and the Fine Arts academic coach J F do I have a motion to accept so any discussion extracurricular activities any more discussion do yes Carol yes Vicki yes yes jice yes and then I just have the consent agenda items with Personnel starting with the separation of Brown County High School second sh custodian Steve Steve Bernard effed February 26 2025 through the transfer of helmsburg elementary school special education care professional Le dinmore to helmsburg Elementary School general education teacher effective February 27 2025 we have a motion to accept I move to accept second discuss vote Doug yes Carol yes Vicki yes Amy yes J yes superintendent's report yeah I will keep it short tonight I I just want from my whole heart and soul to thank the board um for the support with moving forward with these two projects I know the the HVAC isn't always as fun to to work through or to look at and and those are things that absolutely have to be done um but the the athletic site improvements is very exciting and I think the projects that that are recommended or propos um are exactly what we need to be able to to get some excitement back just like Mr Tan said um so I can't thank you enough for support of of both and all of the recommendations that I have put through um we will on March 17th there will be some resolutions that you will approve that are just legal steps to issuing the bonds um when we get down the road of of really developing these projects um we will continue to use Performance Services for all of the hbac projects because it is part of the guaranteed Energy savings contract they know our system inside and out um in all of our buildings um it it makes the most um sense to use them for the HVAC projects we we are required as a school district to put out the athletic site projects um for request for qualifications and we'll go through the design build process um which means we'll we'll put out the scope of projects that we have um we have to legally hire a design criteria um Personnel for this and they will help take us through this request for qualifications process so they'll push that out they'll get all of the bids in for those um they will walk us through um and try to narrow that down by the the most qualified uh companies that they believe would do best for us um and then we choose a a company um like performance Services uh could be Performance Services it could be somebody completely different but it is that type of company and um and then we'll take it out for the RFP um and go through those phases so that that will be the next steps towards that um so I just wanted to give an update on that um I I want to I'm so proud of the high school and Mr shoman and Mrs Roberts we held the they held the um incoming ninth grade information night and um I think what we've got 140 kids in the eth grade class is that right 130 um we had 100 kids here with their families um this is my fourth year here at Brown County and I have never seen that night um like it was and and that is attributed to the intentional planning for that communication and and um thank you so so much and well done I heard from an eighth grade parent like was super excited about everything that was to offer that night so great job um we have I read three going on this week um across our three elementaries so all of our second graders and all of our third graders take that test um this is the test that they have to pass or they will be held back in third grade we do give it to our second graders um if they pass it as a second they do not have to take it as a third grader um we will be offering um Summer School uh for any of the students who do not pass um and they'll have another opportunity to take that at the end of the school year right at the beginning of summer so we will keep you updated on that but please send Good Vibes to everybody that is involved with Irene um Everybody uh and and then um the calendars I just wanted to give a quick update we had talked about um adding professional days professional development days for the staff members um to the next two academic school calendars um and sent out a survey uh if if people they wanted to do just two days three days or four days if we chose four days we would have to add another student day in um and and just wanted to get some feedback across the whole District so we have made a decision that we will go with three professional development days um they will be the two election days that we already we have where kids are not here in session and then we will use uh the February uh which has typically or historically been the weather makeup day it won't be a weather makeup day anymore kids just will not be here on that February day but our staff will be here and we will be able to provide professional development um across the district so um excited about that um and I will bring that formal calendar to the board on March 17th so you can approve the changes formally and then we will communicate with all of our families um but I will go ahead and and give an update to our our staff and then I'll just wish a very much welld deserved spring break next week um I think think a lot of people are ready so thank you thank you legislative update yeah so you might have heard legislative session is in in full swing um we just I don't I follow this way too closely so um if you don't um we have a four Monon long session going on right now we have finished the first two months the last week legislators took a vacation and today they started back in the second half of legislative session what that means is that each house passes their own bills and now they've passed them and now they go to the other house and they consider the other houses bills so you'll see the house considering bills that have Senate bill number and the house will be cons the Senate will be considering bills to have a house bill number uh the good part of that is some of those bills there were 1,200 over 1,200 bills that started out in the legislative session and lots of them died so now we can actually put a microscope on the ones that have passed um really concentrate on the ones that are likely to become law and try to determine whether we support or oppose those um unfortunately an education um we're often at odds with the Indiana legislature because they are often trying to in some ways micromanage there a couple of bills about like what we should teach exactly which really is the purview of school board we're always trying to tell them that's local control that's what we're here for um but the biggest ones of course are funding um that comes a number of different categories and the hard part of this session is that there's a the governor put out a budget house put out a budget and the Senate put out a budget and now we talk about it and they're all different but it will be the last week of April in which um they will um get a forecast of how much revenue they'll have next year and then they will go into a conference committee and they'll come out with some Bill that we have no idea what it will look like so we can talk to them all we want to right now but it it's still kind of theoretical until that last week of April but that is when advocacy really hits is that you know you've really got to make sure we're letting our legislators know what your opinions are um as that affects Brown County bringing that down to our level um it there are a number of cuts that are proposed um that would reduce property taxes now as a property tax payer that sounds really great but always remembering that that money is coming from somewhere and it's going to come from schools um also that the uh legislature loves charter schools and vouchers they're probably going to pass univers vouchers meaning that um anybody of any income can go to private school using taxpayer money um and supporting charter schools which I I'm actually a proponent of of school choice in a lot of ways however what that has done is that takes millions and millions of dollars and puts it over in those private education buckets and that's money that no longer is coming to us as public schools where over you know 90% of kids go school so um one of the things that we're just if you ever talking to anybody you want to Advocate at the legislature for Brian County Schools what can I do um we have two legislators who you know there are people that's Eric cook who's our Senator and Dave hul who's our representative and it's important that you write them an email give them a call send them a postcard whatever it is and say I support Brown County Schools uh I think Brown County Schools needs more money I think Public Schools need more money uh I think they need to hear that um from many many people not just from a couple of us but from everybody to say you know we're really unhappy about that um one of the big things that I'm concerned about is one of the bills does in a referenda which we did last year would require a one-year wait between the time of referenda ends in the time you can ask for another one well we had that but and it wasn't fun as we all know because we have a year and a half in which we did not have referendum funding that pays for staff salaries it's not something you want to go up and down um and then also for the general bonds just as we just approved they want to also have a year Gap so right now we're money rolls off we borrow more money we keep our tax rate even um there are some proposals that then would make us wait a year before we would even be able to engage in this so this is one reason we're in a big hurry we want to make sure we get this done while we know what the rules are and uh who knows what the rules will be in May um so anyway that's a just a little bit of background but in general you know our concern is that the other bill um that I've been lobbying pretty hard on and and I really encourage you to talk to your legislators about is uh partisan School Board we are all elected as non-partisans we do not rep represent any party and uh the partisan School Board bill this is the fourth year that they have tried to pass this and it has failed every other year but we just have to keep advocating so this year there's a bill called uh SB 287 which is a Senate bill it passed but just barely by 26 to 20 and you need 25 votes to pass it pass 26 to 20 uh Eric cook did vote against it which I uh very much thank him for doing that um and then the house had a similar bill but they just never voted on it so now they're going to consider the Senate bill but that is still alive and so uh they want to try to make school boards into more partisan places and and I personally don't think that's um that's the way it ought to be so um it's an bill for them to hear from you about so um those are kind of the the biggest things that are going on if anybody wants to hear about any more details on that let me know um because you know we really do need folks uh numbers matter with the Indiana legislature so simply volume of calls volume postcards and all you need to know is like what the topic or the bill number is and support or oppose and they'll come up at the end of the day and say well we had you know 10 against and 50 in favor well I guess that's something people care about so volume really matters is why you recommend sending two different emails one regarding funding and one regarding the person yes uh when you do your communication do each communication is on one bill only because again they sort of they're just kind of doing a counting of how many they get on each one um you can call if you call the General house number of the Senate you'll probably get a very nice intern who will take your message it doesn't even have to be terribly personal I do tell them I'm a school board member but um you know it is just I'm a member of public I live in Brown County I'm a I'm a constituent of Representative hall or Senator cook you really they really only want to hear from their own constituents that matters a lot and then you just say you know on Senate Bill 287 I'm opposed to partisan School boards and you can say why they'll say thank you very much they'll take a note put it in a pile and count you up um but it really does matter when public gets engaged um just like we had here tonight like as we know we don't normally have this many people in the room so we're just really excited when the public is engaged that will absolutely affect public policy so anyway that's my summary thank you thank you thank you uh can I have a motion to adjourn the meeting second second second all in favor I

[Music] I [Music] a [Music] a [Music] f [Music] a [Music] a [Music] a [Music] there we go hello everyone welcome to round one of the ihen tetrio playoffs my name is Jaden I am the captain of the Super Smash Bros Ultimate Team and a support player here on the OverWatch 2 team of the Cyber tigers with me I have a very special guest the art teacher here miss Van Mater no Esports experience whatsoever makes me nauseous to watch it so if I go to the trash cans because my uh uh visual SP spatial problems are coming up so just disregard that it's okay yeah she is graciously let us stream in her art room all year long turning like a little square of it into the vapor di mention that we have been in for like 12 weeks but yeah this season seven of our players have made it into the top 32 for the regular season and have the chance to compete for one of the four spots at state finals on April 28th this is a single elimination bracket that you should be able to see pop up on the screen eventually so once you lose you are out for the season no losers we want no losers from blufton no losers here we are so yes top four moves on to the next round and yeah let's uh introduce our players we got high stakes coming up for these players first up finishing uh the regular season in ninth place with a 16 and 20 record EMT AKA Lego Master there's the intros next up finishing 25th overall with a record of 12 and four Owen AKA oh sheet I like it I like that name thank you I like it too that's why I do it and next up he started late this year ending the regular season in 17th Place 13 wins 11 losses Alex AKA Gail Lewis and now uh tying Jordan for fourth place in the regular season with a record of 28 wins eight losses Baro AKA X dark ninja where are your ninja moves there Baro come on no wor he sitting in a chair oh and now as I just said tied with our previous player Baro for fourth place 28 wins eight losses as well Jordan aka stricky X one next up the star of the team ending the regular season first place overall with a record of 32 wins four losses Hunter sugar Lords lazy soul and to round out the team coming in at seventh place for the regular season 21 and 15 is is his record clay AKA Firestorm and there we go that is the squad all right Jaden I think you need to come up with a name for me the way you get so excited about that um I don't know I know I put you on the spot I I apologize you think about that come back you come up with a gamertag for yourself I'll think about it all right uh but yeah we should have um our matches starting soon our players just getting warmed up right now yeah this is our first matchup of the night we are going to have EMT Lego Master versus MHS tented cargo with the moresville pioneers yeah EMT your cyber tiger is on the left side of the screen here we go this is game one best of five format all right Jaden you're going to have to kind of explain to me here can so can Jane do anything to do against the other team oh there I see it all right yeah you will see right here clearing enough lines will send those gray blocks at the bottom of each player's board garbage to their side got it and it is meant to push your opponents blocks up uh to the top of their board when you top out you're out so yeah that's how Tetris was turned into a competitive battle game format gotcha and that is what we do here okay so is imit winning or losing right now I have no idea Le's pretty high up on the board setting up for some big moves there we go a double quad quads are clearing four lines uh in one move got done with that line block the cyan one and they are one of the most damaging moves in the game the most damaging moves that you're going to see come out are the quad just a as you saw okay t- spins which we will probably see later on most likely not with this match and it's not a t-pin kind of guy but we will see that later all right and the most damaging is all clears where you don't have a single block on the board okay they take a complicated amount of setup that I do not know and probably never will because I don't want to learn it all right so at least uh the Lego Master got win number one then I take it yeah that is uh round one first to three wins the match all right and I can see that uh I can see that little format up at the top I believe uh going off of that I think this is first two three full game wins which means if you make it to three round wins before your opponent does that gets you a game first to three of those wins yeah we really trying to weed out and get the best of the best in this playoff tournament it looks like blon's got a pretty good chance of sending quite a few guys on yeah looking at those records so yeah we do have a great Squad a very impressive Squad there are of course those big players from the other schools mainly uh the big players that you will see mentioned in this league stalo and Opie okay those are the two other uh Titans of the league oh tented cargo get him pretty high up on his board emit got to figure out some sort of move to finish him off he's not really in the greatest position to do that though double coming through yeah that's big damage coming through from temped cargo let's see he's got a triple coming up oh okay that might might have been a Mis drop but yes M drops are mistakes that's just we to say mistake yeah tented cargo can get some finishing move oh uhoh there go that was saw that warning sign I know that doesn't good yeah the warning sign means uh you're getting close to getting done yeah you're about to be done all right hey I can handle that lingo yeah but EMT avoided that he got uh enough lines clear just in time there we go he's got to get to that hole in his uh garbage to get it cleared there we go we got a little bit of it cleared Big Move coming through from tented cargo and it's still fighting on though okay are they only allow like so many of those shots over or are you limited to how many times you can do that it's just how it's just how many lines you clear okay you're not really limited you're only really limited by yourself and how long your own combo goes yeah he's pretty high up he's in a horrible situation right now all right evened it up sets tied up one to one yep you see those lights first to fill three of those lights by winning round wins this is first to three I was wrong about earlier it's just a one game first to three type thing at least I believe we got some other players I see some other players their screens of watching The Stream okay they they do just have a live feed you know right next to them in the same room I don't know why they're doing that but whatever like they're around behind because of this oh I see what you're saying I see it now yeah yeah the stream's got some delay okay it just got to open up that hole in is garbage so the garbage again is the gray stuff right is that what the garbage is okay yes the garbage is the gray stuff that gets sent over by your opponent clearing lines like that gotcha there he goes and it's getting some clears he's got a quad right there sending some good damage over to tented cargo opening up another hole all right EMT about halfway up is board tented cargo his screen is red that means he's in danger that warning sign again em it going through with the tetris right Lego Master very good so he's got to get one more correct yep and it's on Match Point to move on here we go Lego Master y let's see if he can pull through let's see if he can get this round one Victory move on and stay alive in this tournament so okay tell me about this next part over on there like right beside so they get to choose which one of those they want to go down next is that what it is that little next area oh yeah that that next area is just showing you what the next block okay so it does it goes up and you got to take whatever you get you don't get to choose that yeah you just have to take whatever is next gotcha but you do get to take whatever is in your hold column it starts each round empty but the first time you press uh left shift it will put the block that's currently out into your hold and you can swap out kind of save it yeah you can save it and then you can swap out the block that you currently have for the block that you have in your hold okay oh we're going getting a little red over there on the other side not in a great position yes all right EMT that is going to be Lego Master EMT coming through getting the victory in round one and he's going to move on in the tournament all right congratulations emit nice job all right it seems that we are going one by one with these matches we have Firestorm going up against dig kid Firestorm who was that who that that would be clay oh clay okay mhm seventh place in the regular season let's see if he can move on here he is on the left side of your screen left side of your screen is your cyber tiger clay here we go yeah way more complicated gam playay here there's there's the t- spin that I was talking about from earlier okay you make a t-shaped hole with your blocks and then you spin the T block into it and it is worth just as much as a full quad clear so they are pretty damaging that's what we see a lot in Quad clear is like all four then like a box is that what yeah a quad clear is clearing four lines okay all in one move and the t- spin only clears two lines but because it's a t-pin it does the same amount of damage as a quad it's more complicated gotcha that was quick wow Clay is on it Firestorm yes oh yeah that's kind of that's kind of confusing or Firestorm yeah his his tag in Tetris is nightwalk but it's we got him registered as firestorm in the league I don't know it's like it's like with Hunter having two gamertags lazy soul and sugar Lords gotcha gotcha oh the te- spin triple I didn't even bring up the te- spin triples well whatever mating seem to work a little bit there's a lot of gray on that side yep t-pin triples are t-pins that clear three lines instead of just two and they do even more damage than the t-pin doubles and the quads yes that's one of the many ways to get damage in this game there's another round for clay Clay's on it yes and yeah the method that you'll be seeing for a lot of our players it's either going to be a bunch of t- spins or the occasional quad and a lot of players on our team like the small combos because the more uh like the bigger your combo is by just clearing as many lines as you can like each time a piece is dropped down good win for clay there uh that multiplies your damage more and more okay okay wow well that didn't take long nice job clay yes clay gonna move on in this tournament now I have Clay in class so I'm going to say some of these visual art skills that I learning in my class is helping you with this game what do you think Jaden I mean you got to be good with your eyes I agree I knew have taken my class A couple of times and look at where you're at so a good point I think there's some advantages to taking some art classes very good point you got to have very good eyes very good visuals to actually tell what's going on as fast as it is even though I have no clue what you guys are doing so I think I need to watch it a little bit more so maybe maybe by round seven I'll figure it out at least I know when they're getting close to yeah winning or losing oh all right we're going straight into our next matchup we have o sheets versus Yeet stroke all right specifically ow and he's got a bit of a different like setup for his thing he's just the big board in the middle and his opponent's that smaller board in the side all right see I root for the middle board that is Owen shitsu or cyber tiger so the each player can set up their screen a little bit different then I take it on how they want to view it yeah I believe it's just I believe it's just Owen that does it like this and everyone else does that like Left Right format oh bad placement of the line block there unfortunate for Owen he's going to go down 01 all right we need comeback here Owen the match is just started he can still bring this back is that when you go oh sheets exactly yes okay okay that's what I thought yeah this is going to be an uphill battle for Owen this is uh his opponent is seed eight of the tournament okay he's got a tough one then yeah pretty tough matchup it's okay let's see if he can still pull through oh unfortunate placement of the square block people call the O Block I just instinctively call it a square square yeah it does kind of look like a square more than an O but yeah all them are named after letters it's confusing it's not confusing for all of them that aren't so is that green one the Z oh that uh that one is getting ready to go up that one wa know that uh that red one I think that's the Z right yeah I don't know just how over there actually align my brain doesn't work so I take it they can turn it too so it looks like as it goes up you can turn that yeah as as you can see uh you can like rotate them so you don't have to just go with the natural position the letter position that they're in Joo says one's s and one's Z I got you Joo I got you I see it now I see it now there's the red and the green I got it yeah okay that green is the s i I think I got it I just wrote an s in my head and then the red one's the Z all right come on Owen he's getting an all right combo in there he's going to need a oh he's kind of locking himself out here all right he can build back though a little too combo going to send a little bit of garbage yeah I don't think either of them are really in a very good position to send garbage to each other they're just both trying to stay alive and only one of them only one of them six seeds at that there we go all right so our first cyber tiger down then unfortunately yep good season for Owen but he is going to go down there in round one to ye stroke all right so two moving on so far and and one eliminated but we are going to move on strong we have Hunter sugar Lords going up against zanab okay here we go we're back to the format that we were using it is Hunter on the left root for the left gotcha lazy soul I don't I don't think of Hunter as lazy but he can say that I don't know I'm honestly kind of surprised he didn't like kind of follow through with his uh brother's gamertag cuz his brother NOA did used to play in the league he was a smash player and an OverWatch player uh his gamertag was Sandman Sandman okay yes I know that's a now they are kind of quiet laidback guys I will say that yeah but I only have hunter in home room so looks like he's doing well we got that warning sign up there so that's good and yep there we go takes the first one yeah as you can see on the corners of your screen this is seed 1 versus seed 32 okay this is a very uphill battle for zanab yeah there you go as you can see those I see t- spins you see them a lot more the higher up the level in competition you go with Tetris wow that was quick there we go yeah that that damage now we know he's number one it can go through so fast go so there's immediately another T through another one setting up for another one it's only in position for a single though let's see there we go the quad coming through he's taking a moment to rest before going right back into it and there we go wow wow that is Hunter moving on in the tournament very good all right three moving on doing well here doing well let keep it up mhm all right our next match we got another one of our very high seated competitors we got Baro dark Ninja on the left versus stubby panda on the right and what is bolo's ranking fourth yeah okay fourth in the tournament but because he's uh yeah fourth in the regular season tied for fourth but I guess because they needed you know uh one person to occupy each seed they put them at seed five gotcha wow oh there we go that was quick nice job dark ninja yep these high level competitors you're going to be seeing uh quick games with the higher levels yeah way quicker games even when a higher level faces higher level that's why usually in uh in ranked in like random match ranked the higher level you are uh it will start turning into first to fives instead of first to threes gotcha but this league no matter what your level is just sticks the first of Threes so how do you send that garbage over to try to explain that to me so it's whatever block is going down that's wow that was just so quick there we go can you explain that garbage to me because I'm I mean I know it's the gray part over there well kind of you got to send it over to get to the gray but how do you decide what to send for garbage um well I guess you don't really decide it just does it so oh it does it yeah so it's depending on like what kind of clear you did like just three single Line clears in a row will send like one or two lines of but the more complicated the more setup you require for a clear like a t- spin requires more setup so it'll send more garbage a quad requires a good amount of setups so it's how your setup is down on your side how many how many assume that you get across yeah okay meanwhile oh now we got Jordan Baro was in and out so quick there all right yeah we got Jordan on the left side he's already up 1 against Nicholas now I know Baro and Jordan have a lot of practice because they did practice a lot in my art class oh yeah it's a it's a pretty like popular game to play in uh you know classes when there's absolutely nothing to do cuz you know it's accessible on the Chromebook it's a very easy game it's just Tetris you're stacking blocks yeah I see it often I see it quite often all right 2-1 or 2 I like these games so quick yes Jordan looking to move on with one more round Victory he's going to move on in the tournament if he can do it it's looking like he's setting up for some te- spins taking a little bit longer to set up all right oh he might have messed it up there he's got to build himself back down all right setting up just a normal te- spin double that he's not going to get the t- spin in I don't know if he's trying to toy with his opponent or if he's just like uh just genuinely messing up or if this uh just the order of blocks being given to him is just not at all what he wants there we go he is starting to get some more damage coming through though R Phenix pretty high up on the board Staying Alive we go not anym that is Jordan moving on all right nice job Jordan aka starx or is it star X I think it's strix I still don't know for sure how to prounce X One St stri strix yeah I just said stricky the first time I was here and I I just rolled with it I still have no clue Trixie yeah we got uh another cyber tiger Alex Rivera on the right versus zlo um I believe Alex is going to be on the left side of the screen when the match begins yeah we got to wait a little bit I think Alex is a I think he might be playing a flash game all right yeah we got some issues so we got a bit of time to kill so we can shout out some sponsors and we've got a good amount and they're all very cool huge shout out to our local internet provider Adams Wells internet Telecom and TV they are directly responsible for our Esports players to be able to compete because of their incredibly fast and reliable fiber internet service if you're in the market for Internet TV or phone service check out adamswells.com that's adamswells.com all right then up next we have the Moose garage special thanks to The Moose for sponsoring our event as well check out the garage here in town on Main Street it's a cafe Game Room music venue for the Youth of bluon to hang out you ever been there Jade uh me personally I haven't I haven't either I have to go check it out mhm and finally our final sponsor do you have a favorite nonprofit that could use an awesome fundraising idea auction it is an online and inperson auction platform that can help your nonprofit host a great Charity Auction they've been a very long time supporter of the program they are very cool they're so cool they got on the sleeve of my jersey oh wow that's a big time sponsor yes so find out more at auction.io that's auction.io and now we are into the match Alex on the left side of your screen right you said Alex started in a little late then is that what you said yeah we're starting a bit late this is the beginning of the match I believe their little Graphics are on the opposite sides you know those Corner Graphics but whatever just root for the left side root for the left board oh there we go a t-pin triple coming through that's big damage that quick that was quick there we go yeah you saw all that damage that a t-pin triple did very big all right I believe setting up for another t-pin triple at the start of this round te- spin double gotcha okay now I think I'm starting to see it a little bit yeah there we go three blocks going to be cleared with that t hole there's the t-pin triple gotcha he set it up to have a double straight into it as well quick nice job Alex there we go this is Alex is seed 17 going up against 16 this should be a evenly contested match up but clearly Alex has been doing some big training I have not seen these moves out of him to be honest this is new to me this is a new Alex entering the playoffs he's been holding back trying to sucker you guys in I don't know I I know Dominic's been training him all right so yeah whatever he's been teaching him it's working is working very well oh was there another t-pin did I just see the t- spin yeah there you go all right believe he did misplace there there's a unfortunate placement oh just heard an Applause go is not in the best position for sending garbage right now he's got to build back down this is not where Alex is comfortable Zing coming through with the quad uh oh yeah Alex is not comfortable with the position that he's currently in he's gotten himself way more comfortable though he there we go there we go this is where he want to be might evened it up a little bit still got to hang in there mhm he did make another mistake but that's a mistake that can be easily corrected maybe not as easily as I said have been done he's hanging in there I don't see that oh I spoke too soon oh it disappeared yeah he's he's about on the verge of being ready yeah he's very close there we go he's got to get he's got to get to that hole so is this where he needs to do kind of the some of the small moves to get himself back down or do you try to do a big move here oh yeah oh yeah he had to do some smaller moves to get himself back down lower on the board and at a better position but he just uh could not really recover after that oh okay there we go all right so two to one here Alex still has a lead at least yep he still got that lead and he's now he's actually where he is comfortable he's setting up he's thinking about it there we go bit of a new strategy he doesn't seem to be going for the t-pins now he seems to be going for those quads there we go there we go two coming through another coming through big damage not going to put away zbling but going to be very close another quad once he gets that line block there it is is that going to be it yes it is all right three to one that is Gail Lewis Alex going through to the next round nice performance right it looks like we um had all except one move on then yeah nice round one the Cyber Tigers nice job cyber Tigers uh do we have an updated version of the bracket I don't I don't know these matches are probably still like in progress so I don't know if we have a updated version so looked like bluon was on there for almost every position on the bracket yeah we have a l not any Tetris teams or is do you have to win so many games to be able to get into the backet is it a seated bracket or it's a seated bracket okay yeah so you have to win so many games just to be able to get into the tournament to start out with just to get in I think you have to be top 32 okay so are there quite a few Tetris teams Tetris schools out there or do do mostly all schools play Tetris would you say or I'd say it's a pretty popular option I think the thing that makes it so is that you don't really need a full team of like five or four that's good point you just throw one person in if you got the program yeah you don't need a whole like four or five to get a whole team I gotcha I gotcha yeah we do have an updated version of the bracket showing the results of uh the Cyber tiger matchups that we could show right now yeah here we go as you can see we got some uh updated matchups in this bracket we got a hunter going up against Alex okay so we have some cyber Tigers going against cyber Tigers yeah cyber tiger versus cyber tiger we got Yeet stroke who took out Owen from bracket earlier going up against EMT we got uh that is Jordan over there strixe going up against 101 I'm just going to call him 101 oh meanwhile in one of the different brackets uh we do have Clay going up against Jaden everyone makes the joke that that's me it's not oh it's Monster High School it's not Blu in high school so yeah but yeah I believe those are the results we got a lot of cyber tigers in that one bracket yeah yeah all right so cyber Tigers feared fared very well might know a little bit more maybe I can start asking some questions in class and I'll maybe figure it out a little bit more so maybe um I don't know if that's just the one match that we're doing did we stay all this time to just do one match everyone I think that's what it was but I you would know more than I would I guess they told me it would be quick but yeah I guess that would make sense yep we're done he says all right we seem to be done thank you for joining us this evening we will be back tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.

[Music] come in good evening everyone I'd like to call this meeting of the Dartmouth school committee to order for Monday March 3rd 2025 would you please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance 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 and justice for all please be seated well good evening everyone and welcome to the March 3rd meeting of the darta school committee if maybe Mr parate could turn down the uh the volume a little bit so we don't have so much back feed thank you very much it's on the TV as a reminder this meeting is being video videotaped for rebroadcast on dmouth Community TV channels 9 on the following days Wednesday and Thursday at 5:00 p.m. Friday at 6:00 a.m. Saturday at 8:00 a.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

that is incorrect I was given an incorrect script but thank you for joining us for round one of the tetris uh playoffs we got multiple cyber Tigers moving on I believe of our six only one of them got eliminated yeah did very well very well should fare well should we Fair pretty well in the next round too do you think um I believe so yeah next Monday we are going to continue the remaining cyber Tigers bracket runs on their quest for top four to get to Ball State all right good luck [Music] nah [Music] [Applause] a [Music] n [Music] n [Music]

dmouth Community television channels 18 on the following days Monday and Saturday at 12:00 p.m. and Thursday at 3 p.m. and as always we thank Mr parate and his crew with Dartmouth High School media uh for videotaping our meetings could I have a roll call please miss gner Kathleen Amaral John Nunes yep Mary Beckwith here B Coughlin here Chris Oliver here thank you and uh Amal could not be in attendance at tonight's meeting uh she will be uh watching from home or watching the rebroadcast of it uh so with that at this time we have alloted 10 minutes for anyone wishing to speak on any of tonight agenda items uh for public comment we ask you to please keep your comments brief state your name and um just approach to the podium if you are interested in speaking uh during public comment good evening uh Nathan Silva if you can imagine I'm want to talk about the budget um and what I want to do is uh encourage you uh to vote against the draft budget that was presented at the last school committee meeting um and there's a number of reasons why so gave myself a little list so I didn't forget anything um but first reason is uh it violates the town's own Financial policies to spend one-time funds on reoccurring operating expenses right and I personally wouldn't have a problem in doing that if that was truly to bridge a gap but this is a bridge to nowhere there's no plan in place um to what we're going to do when that money runs out so until we have a plan in place at the Town level as to what we're going to do when that money runs out I don't think it's wise to spend that money on operating expenses um number two it's going to result in further increases to our average class size uh which we are already above the state average in terms of what our class sizes are in Dartmouth um and as I said at the last meeting my daughter's class size increased by 33% what I personally prefer to see is if we have to for space reasons or other reasons uh you know reduce teacher counts and and and increase class sizes there should be teachers assistant positions uh filtering in to help with that with that um burden because there's a tangible difference in my daughter's education experience this year versus last year uh with that increase in class size um number three we shouldn't have to pick and choose between meeting the needs of our students um and and standard uh classroom education right we shouldn't have to pick and choose and and shift resources from one area of the schools to another area of the schools we should be able to to to walk and Sho glum at the same time um number four uh there's not really much you you guys can really do about it but you know I'm looking at this on a long-term Horizon my youngest daughter is 3 years old she has 15 years before she graduates she crosses the graduation stage and um the way I see it among the greatest threats to the school dep department is our ability to attract and retain the next generation of exceptional Educators in terms of what we offer for salary and benefits and this school this budget doesn't do anything to to address that issue and I think that's a problem because anyone in the Private Industry will tell you that the next generation is not like mine where I've been with the same company for 15 years right but I have new hires that come to work for me for 6 months to a year until the next shiny job offer comes around and they are out the door chasing the money and whether we agree with that approach to life or not that's the reality of the current job market and if we don't get competitive I fear what the school department will look like in 15 years as my daughter's crash my youngest daughter is crossing the graduation stage um and finally over the years anytime when the town has been in financial Peril we look to the school department the largest line item in the budget to absorb those uh those pressures right um so we've incrementally over the course of decades have cut the school department so that it doesn't necessarily reflect the school department that I grew up in it shouldn't be the same school department I grew up in but that we we have always requested the schools to to Bear the burden of of the town's pressures and I think that um when we say the schools what we're really talking about is the the one sole customer of the school department and that's the children of this town and they shouldn't be the ones carrying the full load of the town's Financial pressures so that's all I have today um thank you for your time I'm going to catch the rest of your meeting on YouTube because I'm going to go down the hall and watch the girls game so thank you very much thank you thank you Mr s anyone else wishing to speak on any of tonight's agenda items all right we'll take that as a no and we're going to continue right along uh next up would be the approval of minutes sh will entertain a motion to approve the regular session minutes of February 10th 2025 so moved second uh motion by Mr nun second by Miss Coughlin on the motion any further discussion J hearing none all in favor I I oppose abstentions motion passes unanimously 4 to0 next up chair will entertain a motion to approve the executive session minutes of February 10th 2025 so move Mr chairman that and that they be held until the matter for which they were intended is completed second motion by Mr noon second by Miss beckworth on the motion any further discussion chair hearing none all in favor I I opposed extensions motion passes unanimously 4 to0 moving right along we have the spotlight on kids this evening Joseph Dello Elementary School always excited for these presentations Dr Sab McGuire I can see um Mrs ker headed right up right karea um so we're excited to uh hear what you're going to be highlighting with us this evening and I can see from um the presentation that it's jam-packed and so you have quite a bit to share with us so we're going to turn it right over over to you thank you when when I drove up and saw every spot in the lot filled today I was like go Dello like we put it in the FYI but we did not think that we would draw this much of a crowd and I learned that it's the uh girls basketball big game tonight so I'm a little disappointed in that we do have students who are amassing in the hallways and we hope that they will get here I think there was a problem parking Mrs Thomas said is kind of tough out there so hopefully I can um fill you in on all things deela before we get to the student presentations which will happen at the end so we are here to Spotlight put the spotlight on the kids of Dello school and I will start with um it's been quite a start to the school year it's been quite a six months um so first of all thank you all for allowing us this opportunity to come and Spotlight our kids and Mr Hill and I are so excited to talk to you tonight um but before we hand things over to our staff and our students who will be presenting I just want to begin our presentation by spotlighting a big and exciting addition to our school this year um so at Dello we affectionately refer to our primary Wing the wing where our youngest Learners are housed for their time um in first and second grade largely at Dello school as little land um and our first graders and second graders have been in Little Land um little land has been a thing for about 27 plus years um as long as I've been involved with Dello school but last year last fall uh Little Land became the new home uh to the three kindergartens that were previously housed at the kushman um school so for the first time in 17 years Dello School welcomed 60 very intelligent very creative very small uh 5-year-old to our school family uh and Mr Hill and I could probably take the entirety of this meeting to tell you about all the things that we've learned um over the past months but what I want to highlight here are a couple of things that we've discovered discovered about K that I think are just really notable so we all know that teaching requires enthusiasm patience um and love no matter the age of the student students in front of you uh however uh kindergarten requires an abundance of these things in a way that I think you have to witness firsthand to understand and appreciate um when I was a teacher at Dello school we did have three kindergartens back when I started in 1998 I was in fifth grade I don't remember honestly much about the kindergartens there other than my daughter who's 28 today going through kindergarten uh in Little Land um even my time uh in Administration in another District we I had kindergarten in my building but this I think is honestly the first time that I've been immersed in kindergarten and I think it's been a little bit since Mr Hill former kindergarten teacher um has been this immersed in kindergarten so um you know we really have seen a lot and I think we appreciate so much more about this grade level now that we've had six months to really wrap our brains around it so we believe that roughly a third of our case students came to us from a preschool program um so that means for most of our kindergarten kiddos the first day of kindergarten at Dello school was their first day in a learning environment really uh a formal learning or School setting uh you can imagine how exciting but also how challenging and overwhelming and even chaotic that can be for these Littles um so enter Mrs Condon Mrs Cam and Mrs Sylvia our our kindergarten teachers who are not here with us tonight but I have to sing their praises because with their abundance of enthusiasm patience and love they got right down to business uh to the business of cultivating their classrooms into what has become these unique and vibrant learning environments uh where friendships are forming and kind of C curiosity is growing it's it's thriving and it's been the most amazing thing to watch um and we know that they made it look easy we know that this isn't easy because again we've immersed ourselves in kindergarten we've we've seen it all um and we know that teaching is never easy but they certainly made it look effortless uh over the past six months um they are masterful in our eyes and they are magic so that's our first big observation the second discovery that we made is directly linked to the work that our Kade teachers and staff have put into these students every day over the past six months and that's um has to do with their rate of learning um since the fall uh simply stated their rate of growth socially emotionally and academically is remarkable and like nothing I've seen I mean we are used to watching our students grow grow grow grow right we look for that in in one to five but the kindergarteners just learned so much they just come and ready and they just absorb it all it seems like it's rapid fire going on all the times in in their brains um and it's beyond what we may have imagined even like going back to those first few weeks of school um when their teachers were working with them on coming in and sitting down and and working with friends and sitting a little still to listen to see it now and to see where they are in every area again magical so I just thought you might like that update uh on our new additions to our school and now it's time to Showcase some of our un other wonderful work and I did it Mr Hill I told Mr Hill don't let me forget to advance the slides so here here are just some pictures of our littlest Learners in our come to little land or welcome to little land sign that we have above the now so there they are these are probably uh December and January pictures and you can see that they are all doing what they need to do they're wonderful so now I'm on the right slide thank you we are just going to move into spotlighting what we've been doing at Dello school and our presentation tonight is as it should be directly linked to our district strategic plans we'll be focusing on uh areas uh one and two teaching and learning Mr Hill is going to take talk about how we do work with making our schools safe and supportive for all students um so I'm going to start with teaching and learning and I will advance to the right slide so what I hope you see in these slides is Dello students engaged in collaboration communication critical thinking and problem solving these are four key competencies identified in our District's portrait of a learner and as Educators we know that the key to developing these critical life skills is nurturing a culture of student agency in our schools at Dello this means we're focused constantly on creating learning environments and experiences that Foster within our students the belief that they have ownership and control over their learning we want them to understand that with great teachers by their side they able to learn anything in their own time we also know that at the elementary level we have six short years to build confident readers writers mathematicians who are curious and who are confident in their abilities and too often we hear students label themselves early um based on what they perceive as deficits right how many times have we heard kids say I'm not a reader I can't read I'm not a writer or I don't have a math brain it's all too hard for me so we do make an effort every day at Dello school um to work with students on this we want everyone to believe that everyone is a reader a writer and a math person and this brings us to our Spotlight on an initiative uh that uh to develop uh de students agency in math I'd like to introduce Mrs Jen fitton our incredibly talented and Brilliant math coach to tell you all about how everyone at Dello is a math person and I could have gone faster through those slides but here you go hey everyone so one of the things that we started this year um at Dello was based on a grant that I wrote for de last year about how we don't all perceive ourselves as math people so I want you all to think back to when you were in elementary school I know for me it was very long time ago but I want you to take a sec and think about what your experience was like when you were in first second third fourth even fifth grade around math if it was like mine I did a lot of worksheets a lot of the teacher standing in front of the room telling me what to do and I liked that because I was good at it I could follow rules I'm still a rule follower but that's that's really not the world that we live in so think how many times a day do you use math in any way you use it to make your food you use it to pay your bills you use it to go to the gas station you use math for everything so then why aren't we math people we are all math people so that's what we're trying to get kids to realize at at Telo so I'll start with a sign that's in the middle of the screen um a couple of years ago I wrote a grant for DF and they gave me a poster machine so we're using that poster machine a lot this year um and at all of the entrances of Dello you'll see a sign that says welcome math person if we can read it maybe we'll believe it um we've also started um displaying lots of things that use math every day in the hallway so every classroom has a sign with GG our STD math mascot um who's holding a sign that says welcome math person and every few months we change that GG based on some data that the classes collect each GG is similar in that their outfit is the same but the colors and the accessories are different based on what the class votes for uh We've also established this initiative of who is a math person well we're all math people so we created this Frame and I'm going to leave it here tonight I hope you'll all take a picture with it and Mrs poo can send me the pictures so we can add them to our hallway we're taking pictures of kids sta of all kinds teachers um esps the custodians the speech and language Pathologists so that the kids can see we are all math people so if we are so are you we're taking pictures of the kids doing math what does a math person look like it looks like all of us we do math all day even if we're reading a book technically we're doing math I have a video I'm hoping it's going to load um to reinforce our mission we're reminding the kids that math isn't just about calculations math is full of many other things that our state standards call math practices so I went around and I asked the kids what do mathematicians do and these are the things they came up with I hope you can hear it I'm not a videographer I need Mr pate's class mathematicians communicate [Music] mathematicians look for tions make observations I see in the array this array is 4 by9 maem I think those are par mathematicians make mistakes and learn from them I think $19 time 80 is [Music] $960 I don't think that's correct because I got 9877 oh I made a mistake with my place with my decimal mathematician ask questions mathematicians notice things I noticed that there are nine kids mathematicians persevere and don't give out oh this oh this puzzle is so hard puzzle hard maybe you should take a break always I did it so we're really getting the kids to believe that they are mathematicians so we also created this in the planter hallway of Dello a street called mathematician Street um and I'm changing the activities every few weeks um we made this bulletin board about which type of math person are you and it's funny the kids if I go into a classroom the kids will say I'm today I'm a Problem Solver um today I'm a helper they're totally noticing it and and really grasping it and incorporating it into their days um we're also um using these activities and I'm changing them every few weeks so that the kids can um think outside the box it's not necessarily I'm just putting a problem up on the wall it's it's looking at things and and really working through them so for Christmas we had a bunch of Christmas pictures and um the kids had to fill out a little form and put in in a box and Mrs Coria she and Mr Hill shared them during the morning announcements so and so put this in this was there idea and the kids love hearing their ideas come through on the um morning announcements this month we're working on patterns because patterns are a huge part of our world um so I kind of differentiated it for kindergarten I started with a simple pattern and then for the other kids they had to figure out these much harder questions and I have to be honest with you I didn't think it through before I did it so I had to have Stephen we who's a senior at the high school help me with the line 100 um because I couldn't figure it out either but many kids did try and that's all I really care about um this last video is um a fifth grade class who both teachers and students have truly embraced this I am a math person and they're coming up with amazing ideas and not giving up and and sometimes when you're a teacher you want to help kids you you don't want them to struggle you want to make sure that they feel comfortable with they're do with what they're doing um but these two teachers in this room have really embraced the we're all math people we're all Learners and even when they're not feeling comfortable they're giving the kids a chance to feel comfortable so they just wanted to tell you this I'm a bad person and we're so proud of them so thank you for having us I don't know how to make it go to the next slide though a few here we go no one yeah right thank you Mrs fitten all right hello everybody uh Adam Hill assistant principal of Dilo school and I'm going to as Mrs Cory head aluda I'll be chatting a little bit about Focus area two of our strategic strategic plan of how we keep our school safe and supportive so um you know really quick we have a few um nice pictures here and I'm going to talk a little bit about a tiered approach um we do we we take a look at how we can promote social and emotional growth and we we we started off really by looking at whole school um we'll focus whole school Community meetings targeting at First beginning of the school year focusing in on our core values so what is that is how can we be safe how can we be responsible how can we be respectful throughout all aspects of the school so really want to take that whole school approach and talk about growth a little bit as Mrs cor said with our kindergarteners to see where our kindergarteners are right now versus where they are in SE we in September it's amazing to see how they are a part of our community and um it's amazing too watching our older stud students become such great role models for our younger students but we start with whole school and then from there we would take a tiered approach and we'll focus in more on grade level Community meetings that can take place in the cafeteria it can take place at lunch um and there we will focus on more specific topics that are directly related to grade levels um you know I may I may do that in the cafeteria a lot of what we try to do is data driven so our teachers collect PBIS PBIS um tier one data from their classrooms that focus in on our core values of being safe respectful and responsible that comes to me where I can then relay that to oural team which I'll talk a little bit moving forward um and what our Outreach social workers will do is that as they are working with classroom teachers to facilitate Second Step lessons which is our curriculum they can embed some of the areas of focus that we are documenting into their lessons so really kind of take a data driven approach on that um so in kind of funneling down we'll take Co school and then grade level we'll also focus in on small group um and I have to give a shout out to not only our teachers who are working with our with our students but also our team so here is just a quick snapshot of some of our of our Outreach social workers Miss Frick who is new to us this year she's parttime with us part-time down at kushman Mrs Simer um Mr O'Neal along with nurse Rachel and nurse Kate we meet with them weekly um and there we talk about really whole school and our individual kiddos because our Focus really is understanding where our kids are coming from what they need and what we can do to help support them um so here with our awesome emojis um for confidential reasons um we have um a student initiated um lunch group that is just you know they find that the um cafeteria maybe not be the best environment for them so that's my office it's turned into a little lunchroom and that's used on a daily basis and it's used it could be used for any grade level uh in addition to that we have our we have lunch bunches that are more small groupal focused um facilitated by our Outreach social workers uh and then of course you know we have our counseling aspect which is small group or one-on-one so really focusing in on who our kiddos are and what they need and what we can do to best support them um this last picture you'll see the change this is great and I'll talk a little bit more about student council but this is working in collaboration with our student council um that is a chain of kindness which we did around the holidays really great um activity where the whole school got involved focusing on different colors and and every student from every classroom put in a thought of what they are um what are they thankful for right and I thought it was just really great for them to just you know be humble and think about the positives around them um let's see oh and the other thing that we've done with student council is student council has actually have worked on creating skits of conflict resolution and performed in front of our younger students and any way that anytime you can get students facilitating a message and acting it out it's very powerful so that are just some of the big things funneling down to individual how we individualize support um I'm going to be calling up Miss vosi shortly but in addition to and talking about where how we can support kids for what they need recess isn't always a best fit for our kiddos so I would like to call up Miss fosi to explain um maker space and maker space she's put a lot of time and effort into creating an alternate recess for some of our kiddos so turn that over to you thank you Mr Hill my name is Liz vosi I'm the instructional technology specialist at D school and I'm really excited to talk to you about the progress of our recess maker space last year we were awarded a DF Grand to establish this maker space as a Comal creat cretive space for kiddos to come as an alternative to traditional recess um it gives them that calm space to be able to create and transition from their morning to afternoon learning we know that arello students just like everyone different students need different things and some students find Outside recess or indoor recess in the winter over stimulating and sometimes you just have a day where you need to decompress in between that morning and afternoon learning so we've established this maker space it runs for three res is every Tuesday through Friday and students have had a chance to come in and uh build with Legos magne tiles connects giant blocks um they've been jewelry and fashion designers and we've explored some 3D design with our 3D printers and our 3D pens we also are just finishing up our second huge collaborative project more than 100 Dello students have worked and contributed to planning construction and the interior design of our Dello cardboard Resort and we' brought two of the five modular pieces with us today to show off because the pictures just don't do it justice when you really look at the detail that goes into these uh rooms and the design and we still have the Treehouse playground Lobby restaurants and water park back at Dello School uh we would love to invite the members of the school committee to come visit our maker space anytime and I'm excited to see what our students will build next now we're going to turn it over turn it over real quick to and all right and now I would like to um introduce Mrs colbeck to come on up um who heads the fifth grade student council and again student council is such a big part of our demelo community as the students work collectively to help develop a safe and sorting learning environment and school culture so that being said I'd like to turn it over to you you're welcome do we uh do anything here right you might do okay okay I'm a little short hi everyone uh I just want to say thank you so much for having us as you can see we have a very large group here tonight and they're extremely excited I'll be a little nervous uh for the Talking part but extremely excited our fourth and fifth grade student council members um have been extremely active this year uh the groups are large as you can see we meet once or twice a week and if there's a special project it's every day at lunchtime our recess um the kids get together and they make their own minds up about what they want to do and then we go for it um uh their activity is pretty impressive this year because their big motto has been helping people and um we don't only help within our school but outside of our school in our community and they're going to tell you a little bit more about that our student Council does date back quite a few years prior to covid um and of course we had a little Hiatus there um and of course now we're back in business and we're strong and it's so good we have a lot of leaders here a lot of role models who want to get involved and so now I really am going to hand it over to the kids because that's really who makes up this wonderful fourth and fifth grade student council good evening our names are Faith Cali and faith and we are part of the fourth grade student council at the Melo school we have 37 members this school year and are proud to help both within and outside of our school Community we would like we would like to share a little bit about our history and some of the projects we are are part of during the school year our names are Max Desi Addison and Grace and we would like to share with you how the fourth grade student council came about Miss B and Miss Moy from student council 11 years ago they wanted to give students the opportunity to give back to the Dello Community there's a break during Co but other than that we have continued to work hard hello our names are Noah Rowan Hunter and Brady we' like to tell you some of the projects the student council has participated in so far this year we have made holiday decorations for the Dartmouth Council on Aging collected new socks for people in need and we and we have run a sports ball drive for gifts to give we are also responsible for the bird feeder in our Courtyard in past years the student council has visited the Council on Aging to make crafts and line dance and we have gone to Gifts to Give In order to volunteer our time we hope to be able to continue these traditions this year thank you for all thank you for inviting us here tonight to share okay yep that was our fourth grade [Applause] Council good evening my name is paisy B and this is Ella Barrett and I mean and this is Ella Ella and Zachary we are going to be talking about what we did for the local community one of the things we did during Halloween is formed a Halloween parade we dressed up and made Halloween cards and then we paraded marched over to the Mia Apartments to visit other residents another way that we helped the Dartmouth Community is that we held a few drive for the Neighbors at the Dartmouth Council on Aging we had students donate non-p perishable goods and then we restocked their Pantry we also had an idea to make Valentine's Day cards for some of the elderly who live in son so this is is how we designed cards and then we Dro them off there thank you hi my name is Tyler this is rean Mia and Samantha and we all participate in the student council bulletin board we all feel that when we design our bulletin board we are not only expressing our creative minds but sharing our ideas to make one we also not only work at school or during our recess time but devote our free time to our bulletin board usually we base our bulletin board on the upcoming holidays for example this February we based our bulletin board on Valentine's Day so far our designs on the bulletin board have been based on Valentine's Day Christmas Thanksgiving and Halloween on our bulletin board we include small paper shaped for the holidays that have names of the people and student council me and Regan both work on making decorations while Samantha and and Mia assemble the bulletin board our upcoming theme is for St Patrick's Day most of the time we like to plan ahead for example we all had the idea to add Joey the wolf and gig to our bulletin board we also put up some hallowen newspapers according to the month all hi my name is Wyatt this is Thomas and this is Miles we are here to talk about assemblies and skits one of the assemblies we did was Unity assembly in October it was about taking a stand against bullying and doing the right thing one of the skits we did showed an argument about whose turn it was to use a the special chair at the end of The Skit we showed the real way to compromise the fifth grade student council wrote the skits and also performed them we know the importance of modeling positive behavior and this is one way that we can do it hello I'm here with Katherine and Zachary and we're going to talk about how the recycling works so recyclers have a huge part in the Dello School community so today we are telling you about how the recycling works first there are 10 kids total on the recycling team everyone on the committee goes to Mrs cock's class to get gloves to keep our hands clean then we separate into our sections of the school there are three groups one group of four two groups of three then we walk around the school grabbing the paper bins and plastic bins and dump them into the town wheelie bins if the wheelie bins are fall we swap them out for the empty ones after we empty the classroom bins we bring them back to the classroom it is a big job in a dirty one too but someone has to do with it are there any questions and this is is Mr [Laughter] whle okay thank you love hi hi I'm Olivia and this is Charlotte Payton and ly helping around the school is very important for and helpful for many teachers some things we do are reading SD math and organizing classroom tools some of the kids are shy so reading and talking to them helps them come out of their comfort zones and build a relationship with us the students sometimes need a friend to talk to and it helps them talk to more classmates thank you any questions thank you thank [Applause] you I couldn't believe that just about every student in the student council came to school committee tonight we expected we knew that the the speakers were going to come we weren't sure if everyone else was going to make it and I think just about every student that we have came so thank you all boys and girls for coming that's fabulous thank you and I would be remiss I'm so thankful to uh Mrs colbeck who as the senior Dello school teacher got volen told that she needed to introduce the student councils but we have teachers that work behind the scenes and they are working behind the scenes today in fourth grade Mrs Baker and Mrs Mary work very hard with these students they're here on the sidelines coaching thank you ladies and in fifth grade Mrs Agia Works alongside Mrs colbeck to get the students working there too so we couldn't be more proud we thank parents and students for coming and we would love to open up um up to any questions or things that you want to ask of our students or our staff while they're here here thank you so much thank you we'll start this down over here um great presentation all around um really great speaking skills and Leadership were shown here um and I can feel the pride in your school and um and the real desire to help the school be better and help the younger kids be better um so no questions just very impressed and appreciate you coming here to present M Beck I got a great sense of what a great place deelo is and um and I want thank you all for coming out tonight on such a cold night uh to share with us we so appreciate it uh because we're always working for you but we don't always get to see you so it's great to see you and um I will definitely be over to see that make space so I'll be in touch thank you Mr no yeah thank you Mr chairman uh my congratulations uh to the students wonderful presentation to the faculty and staff uh I'm Blown Away the way these uh young men and women our Future Leaders got up here and spoke without any trepidation or concerns or anything of that nature very clear very articulate uh parents Guardians grandparents should be very proud of them they did a wonderful job I'm very very impressed and yeah we're impressed every day yes thank you Mr Nunes and just what a turnout there must be something very special going on over at the Melo School how many students here are proud and excited to be Dello school students all right all over there [Applause] I will just say that you all did a fabulous job it was great seeing some of the things going on at Dello in the student council represented here this evening and thank you all for coming out you did such a great job all of those all of you that came up to the microphone and spoke and even those of you that came along and just you know for there for moral supportal support so uh thank you uh parents Caregivers for taking the time to bring your students out here uh we certainly appreciate it and I'm just going to turn it over to Dr Sabra Maguire our superintendent I have to say I was at the Dello school today just today walking through classrooms and the energy and the sense of school spirit that we saw here this evening was absolutely on display while I was at the school today so when you look at those pictures please know for all the folks here and thank you so much for all of you folks coming out and I understand parking was at a premium so we're we're happy that you were able to make your way in but that you can be confident that the photos that you're seeing are the experiences that the children at the Dello School are having and I have to say like personally and professionally I have so much uh confidence in our future because to hear you as student council members come up and be so focused on the things that are so important in society it gives us all hope and we all know that we have our Future Leaders sitting in this room right here and how lucky are we to know and it it gives us all just a sense of pride in the Dartmouth schools and pride in all of you so please bring that spirit with you wherever you go because it has impact and you're inspiring all of us so thank you folks for coming out tonight um I know again not easy to come out on a cold night and find parking spaces but please like peek in on the basketball game while you're here apparently they might be up by a few points um and I just want to say I could hear the energy outside in the hallway before you came in and so there was uh yeah we we were looking forward to having that energy uh in in with us as well so thank you so much Mrs kareah and for the folks the teachers you know doing this work at the school level how important is this and you can see it yes so thank you thank you thank [Applause] you oh absolutely oh you don't want to stay for school committee you are all more than welcome to stick around and listen to the rest of our meeting but we certainly understand that you have places to be B basball games to see so have a wonderful night everyone I give them couple of minutes yeah what I don't think no no maker space those are amazing I know those are really details oh yeah oh yeah oh [Laughter] oh it is funny they're just all so different so different tell me have oh that's nice yeah that's good thank youn take take your time lemon oh yes oh yes hold on Dartmouth has committed so few fouls that's just the first trip for two free throws all night long for the Blue Devils the only other free throw was that and one by Maya Keenan three is no good kicks off and a foul coming right and I think we're just about ready to move along seems like the crowds have uh dissipated yes uh next up we would typically have our student representative of report however they are not with us this evening so we're going to move over to the next item which is a consent agenda and uh Dr Sab Maguire is recommending in approval of the Dartmouth High School Youth and government Club to attend the model government conference in Boston uh this April of 2025 any anything else you want to add no no I think again another example of opportunities for our students get involved in government and give us sort of you know exactly what we just s witnessed give them opportunities to have those experience so important so moved second motion by Mr noon second by Miss Beckwith on the motion any other discussion have a good time and learned that's right J Haring none all in favor I opposed extensions motion passes unanimously 4 to0 all right moving right along to Old business proposed FY 26 budgets some frur the discussion uh shall I turn it right over to Mr Kylie I'm just yeah I'm going to lead off just for for a minute because I I just want to connect back to um some conversations that I've been involved with recently around school choice funds and what what I've heard and come to learn over the past two years really almost that I've been here in Dartmouth is that there seems to be continued misunderstanding around school choice funds and the Reliance of the district on this money to fund position positions and so one thing that's important is that we acknowledge that there has been conversation about initially utilizing Esser funds for positions and I think that that's been some of the um sort of debate about why why did that happen well I think it's important to note that when those decisions were made we along with the rest of the world I when you think about the impact of that statement the rest of the world we were truly in Uncharted Territory at that point these funded positions by all accounts and from what I've learned were necessary at the time they were deemed necessary the folks at the table had multiple conversations they were certainly uh paying attention what to what was going on at the national level at the state level and most importantly at the local level so to question how are those decisions were made at the time at this point is just it's truly just unfair decisions were made in the best interest of staff and students there is no doubt about that so now we have these positions and now we are in school full-time and we find out that these positions are actually critical to every day to us every day they're important positions in schools and you saw some of that this evening you saw some of those people who OCC occupy those positions most importantly that's what you witnessed that's what you just heard the Dello folks talk about particularly when you heard about social emotional learning and you saw the team of people that Mr Hill shared with you so what are we going to do now that's the important question that we all have we decided to use school choice funds to finance step positions this we know and I know we've heard this and I know it's a broken record but this was a initially necessary due to the expiration of essr funds and that's the simple statement that's the simple fact that's a reality these positions were originally in some of them in the operational budget right and again have previously meaning the the school choice funds supported educational programs and Personnel so then the federal funding ran out yes we did know that that was going to happen the district faced an immediate budget Gap and was not yet prepared to request an override from the town we were not in that position at that time it just it was we were we were um we were literally grappling with the challenge in the moment at that time the school department was not asking for an override at no time did the school department or school committee come forward and propose an override we had discussions about over an override but we didn't ask for it school choice funds were used as a short-term solution to bridge the gap and maintain those essential Staffing levels without disrupting student services remember schools are constantly responding to the changing policies the guidance and funding and as we all know at that time you couldn't have more rapid change I mean we were pivoting by the day and sometimes by the hour and we also know that this approach is not sustainable in the long run and the school Comm knows that more than anyone school choice revenue is not a guaranteed or fixed funding source it fluctuates annually and it's based on enrollment needs and it could as we all know and we've said here uh multiple times could disappear entirely in the past pre-pandemic and pandemic recovery These funds were used to support one-time cost so pre pandemic that's how those funds were used uh such as curriculum updates technology purchases and facility improvements rather than the expenses that they're covering now shifting these school choice funds to recurring Personnel costs create a structural deficit we are aware of that and we have been saying that since I got here again my second year here and the message has not changed it's been very clear by FY 28 we know what the projected shortfall is and that has been widely shared now this isn't a uh an issue this isn't us trying to create a sky is falling narrative because that's not the case right now we have these school choice funds we're looking at using them wisely to continue to support our schools in the west best way possible but we need to ensure long-term stability and we know that that is coming close and we we don't want to wait until the last minute to be going to the town to look for additional funding and that is why we continue to discuss school choice money and how we're using it and to seek guidance from the town from the committee on how we're going to eventually bridge this Gap because without Bridging the Gap eventually yes it's not we're not um as I said it's not sky is falling but eventually this is going to catch up to us and we're we're sharing this widely and we just really need the community to understand that the way school choice funds are being used are in the best interest of the students and the community in darmouth and I know Mr Kylie is going to discuss um some specific questions that you had at our last budget meeting and I think and hope that it will really clarify uh what this budget represents for us thank you Dr s Maguire so in um the spirit of addressing some of the questions that you had at the last school committee meeting and really tying those things into what Dr sa Maguire um just spoke about we have a few um a few slides here that I'd like to present um this slide realign staff and resources was in our budget presentation at the last school committee meeting but I I want to be sure that we understand that yes we in this budget proposal we are um taking positions that currently exist and realigning them um and asking for support in other areas and we really want to show you what that looks like in practice so the next slide there's a lot on this slide but this is our um fiscal year 26 projected enrollment and class size by grade by school also included on this slide are fiscal year 25 enrollment and class size numbers couple of things to note um you'll notice a projected decline in enrollment we do our own work work on this we also have neas um NASDAQ nesda nees do the um I had NES on the brain from earlier today um uh do a enrollment projection for us and um it it certainly looks like we'll have a relatively low incoming class into the Elementary uh in kindergarten for next year um so at the elementary level we're projecting to be down about 5% you'll notice that in both the elementary totals and in the Dello and Quinn school there's an indication of a reduction of of class sections so for instance there's one class section at Dello and three at the Quinn school that um we are projecting will be reduced for next year so back to the first slide that is the first line on here elementary teachers for FTE that we are realigning similarly um the middle school has a reduction of two um two staff for next year um I'd like to remind you that we're going to do everything we can to um limit the impact to attrition um right now of these positions we have one position that is not that is currently not through attrition the rest are all through attrition so retirements or other changes in staff um so there's been a question um member of the finance committee asked us about what our plan was in regards to declining enrollment and this is what our plan is addressing class size um maintain trying to maintain a re a reasonable class size you'll notice towards the right hand side there where we com where we can compare the class size for fiscal year 26 projected and fiscal year 25 actual um at the elementary level we maintain a class size of of 21 on average um at at the middle school level we have a slight increase from 19 to 20 on average and the high school is a much more complicated piece um because there's such a variety of course selections we'd certainly be happy to provide you with more information about that um if you'd like in the future so we thought it was important because I I think proposing this realignment it's hard to visualize what that looks like in practice and what the impact is going to be on each student and um so I I hope that this helps depict that um and hope hopefully helps you understand that we are attempting to maintain a reasonable and appropriate class size um while still utilizing our resour ources in a in a different way to address our needs before I move to um sort of the the next topic are there any questions about about this information can I just just add that in um just adding to what Mr Kylie said about addressing declining enrollment we also took some steps to do that last year if you remember and that was part of the reason that we were able to move the cushion students the kindergarten to the Dello and you can still you can see that in doing that we were still able to protect class size somewhat um I mean it's not perfect but that was an intentional move to put our kindergarteners where they should be which is in their home school and at the same time to respond to declining enrollment so Dr Sab McGuire just to be clear uh because of that move from kushman to Dello with kindergarten is it safe did we reduce two FTE last year last year was it two actually I think it was three right it was three last year um so we reduced our teaching staff at the Melo by three FTE because this is a just real you want to to be sure important point to make when we're having these convers conversations with the finance committee with the select board and other folks in town is that yes we have we've already reduced last year we're continuing to reduce MH just we just Mr Kylie's just checking to make sure we the right I don't need an absolute answer right now but that's all right that was my that was my only question that's a that's a great question and and we definitely reduced and and it was in response to declining enrollment and it was the right thing to move the kindergarten to the Dello and you could hear that this evening you could hear that that was a decision that makes sense I mean you move them all into you know they get accustomed to that building and they're going through it type of deal versus coming in as freshman and starting all over again to get us new school yeah la last year um we realigned resources as well um and and really overall had a fairly significant reduction um we had three Elementary School teachers um two teachers at the middle school that were funded through the Esser grant that um we did not continue uh a middle school teacher a high school teacher an elementary specialist teacher the secretary to the superintendent and a Middle School uh secretarial position a part-time position so all those uh positions were reductions in last year's budget in response to having to um you know having no consideration above a 3% increase last year um and then uh we had very little that we were able to reallocate because of the um you know the lack of funding so we've gotten ourselves to the point where we're utilizing school choice which is coming up on my set of slides here right um to to sort of stem the tide so Mr Kylie with that being said the we still had a net loss after the reallocation of staff there was still a net loss Lo correct significant yes so I don't I don't know how the rest of the committee feels but it that may be helpful when you when are you presenting to the finance committee this week Thursday okay Thursday night I don't know if you have the time but that may be helpful to to put that data into a slide or or or handout as to what we've done in previous years we'll do y for what it's worth mhm thank you I agree uh so there's a lot on this slide as well but this is this is the slide that Mrs Amal um spoke about in terms of things that we weren't able to fund in our budget process I I guess what I think is important about this slide um maybe most important is that I don't really consider this to be an exhaustive list um I I think that we are we are realistic are administrators are realistic and understand the general limitations that that we face um in the budget process particularly in the recent in recent budget processes um so I would say that if U we were to ask our administrators well is this all you would need I guarantee that they would say no but they're also you know again being realistic and practical and not uh proposing a great deal of uh a great deal of of of resources um that we can't realistically expect to to receive that said there are quite a quite a bit on this list um it's 1.3 million I've included the school choice positions former eser positions um on that list because I you know I think it's important to not lose sight that yeah those those are really not funded in the in the budget um we're making du and using the reserves to to get by uh in the short term any questions about about this slide Chris yeah thank thank you Mr guy correct me if I'm wrong the these are not quote unquote pie in the sky and you know wish lists and that type these are for discussion purposes are really necessary in our in our system they are you know I mean when you look at you know the um the esps the behavioral specialists the guidance counselors the school nurse you know the the Tas and so it's it's everything that helps make you know the student better and our system and our district that much better so I agree so yeah C good certainly a good point Mr NES it it paints a picture when you look at a number of these positions of Support Services yeah there's a number of Support Services positions uh and that just speaks to the high needs that our student population has um so also in terms of class size we talk about class size but we don't talk about like how many teachers assistants or how many um esps we have in those classes because um if you just have a teacher with 23 children that could be overwhelming and there could be um could be harder for the children to learn but if you have support services or teachers assistant so do we have a breakdown are we increasing the number of assistants no but we do have assistants or um teaching professionals but specific we do have esps right you mean that's what you mean right education support Personnel yes right we do have those folks in but they fall into different categories you don't we don't have an ESP for every classroom if that's what you are asking we do not okay I will bring you back to this slide from the uh presentation at the last school committee meeting in which we did speak about dartmouth's ESP count per 100 students is 1.1 below the state average so we per 100 students we have 1.1 Less esps in the state average okay so it' be good to have more of this yes it would it would I I think you know that um additional supports for students are part of what we're missing when we're 270th of 322 districts I I think you know our class size is not very high um it's not very low either uh but I think the additional support s are where at times where you know we're lacking um in terms of our our funding level being low it's also usually the conversation that we're having when our our school leaders are calling looking for support it's usually that they're looking to have an additional ESP added to their building and that happens throughout the course of the school year depending on what the particular needs of a student who may um may enter the school or may have been in the school and and require some additional supports and I think our ability to respond to those those needs that may not have we we may not have had a full understanding of at the time of the last budget is very limited we just don't have we don't have wiggle room at our funding levels so anyone else I'm good thank you okay thank you so uh speaking of school choice this slide is essentially um there there's one column different than um what was presented previously and and a uh Finance Committee Member asked about um what um what we had spent school choice funds on previously so the the column on the left is everything that we've spent um through the school choice revolving fund since its Inception in 2017 uh I I would say that the things that the largest thing um on that list is is technology and we were served well by you know positioning ourselves and and Mr gashaw being ready when the pandemic happened to um to go to one to one and we never would have been prepared to do that without without that utilizing um school choice funds for that purpose we supported renovations to Dartmouth Memorial Stadium um we had not used um school choice for staff and you know for obvious reasons we we didn't want to um you know approach it that way till now that we have now we have to so um so anyway it's informational I I think that um one other important point was that during the pandemic we received a significant amount of grant money relating to technology resources um and and as a result saved school choice funds um so that's part of what has you know led us to have some reserves which thank thankfully we do because um we're using them right now to survive really but apparently there are people in the community that feel that we were putting that tucking that money away and so but look what we're doing with it now right right keep my mouth shut yeah I'm I'm not go ahead Mr dudes because understand something M and Mr Kylie just mentioned it okay two things number one we had the Esser funds and we had a number of Grant funds that's with all due respect that's free money okay so that's what we used first and that's the smart way to business and to to budget if you have free money and money that's coming in you know that type of you use the free money first type of deal that's the right way to go about it hence the buildup of school choice and others so thank God we did it that way we had it to use because now it's bailing us out those Grant funds had very specific expiration dates right and uses yeah so um so I think we did a good job of using those funds 100% agree 100% so um the the other things that were included in your school committee packet I'm not I'm not you know projecting up here it was informational um but they were um to address questions regarding the human resources proposal um and there's some analysis that we provided in your packet in the team facilitator uh yeah proposal so we're prepared if um you know if you have any questions on either of those we'd be happy to discuss those so does anyone want to go first go ahead M I just have to say I was astounded at the range of how folks do human resources across these school districts MH yeah there is not a a model um that is consistent and a lot of it doesn't make sense so I I don't know how you have a district R size without a professional HR person I just don't I don't get it okay thank you um and I would say um our town has an HR person and that's not the schools that's the town and yet the schools are 57% of the budget and we have more personnel and for some reason we don't need an HR person I think the fact that we are so big we need one did you have a question Mr NS yeah I did Mr chairman thank you I mean if you look at the this list and thank you very much Mr Kylie for this but you've got seven in the dart districts down to Somerset Berkeley if you go through there are seven of these that are Regional Schools okay Triton Blackstone Dudley Charon I'm assuming is shepher Hill Ash Braham wind uh you know uh titon reob Freetown Lakeville Somerset Berkeley and then you've got the vocational schools in Bristol lagi so you know some of these you know you know the biggest schools so it's a needed position in my opinion so um is it okay if I just jump in a little bit and knowing and it sort of you know again having been here two years now I think you remember that last year this was a position that we did put forward and in recognition of the challenge of the budget we withdrew it um things haven't really changed and so that's why we again Put It Forward at the same time I think that you know and we have a lot of internal conversations about this um I can't not acknowledge the work that Kate gner does every day and and the way that we all work together um to really be the HR office and I and I'm not saying that we're not capable of doing that because I I do think we are I think we do really good work as a team and I think it's because of the strength of our team that we are able to um to do the best that we can and I again commend and she I know Kate doesn't want me to do that but I am anyway I'm sure that she's rolling her eyes at me even though you can't see it um but uh it's because of of really her expertise and attention to detail and the work that she's doing is really um it's just incredible and we couldn't not have an HR office if we didn't have Kate in the position that she's in and her level of attention to detail uh again in recognition of another challenging budget we as I said have had internal conversations and some of the things that we're looking at doing is um automating some of our HR functions because we really are paper driven um and we are in talks with a a group that does some of this work and Kate has been working closely not only with Jonathan but really uh all of us to to learn what kinds of things we can do to reduce sort of the overreliance that we as a school district have on on really a paper driven system whether it's keeping track of folks in their credits where they are on the salary scale uh keeping track of of the the submission of professional development of of all of those sort of HR things that I'm talking about that aren't related to Personnel because that's another whole story right so there are two parts to HR but at this point I think what we're thinking is we want to try those automated um support services and see how that impacts our operation and we think it might be best to think about holding off putting that position forward as we Mr Nunes is shaking his head but I just want to put it out there that it is something that we have talked about and uh we recognize the you know the challenge of talking about eliminating positions and bringing in positions and you know we want to be well positioned to do that and we want our school Community to understand the need we have and at the same same time respect some of the challenges that that you as a committee are facing and that we're facing as well I know when I met with Dr Sab Maguire for our bi-weekly meetings uh in preparation and we had this conversation I was certainly a little hesitant um after having this conversation about taking this out of the budget because I think it is such a such a big need but I think it does show uh very much you know that the school department and this Administration wants to work together with the town as much as possible when we're uh proposing uh eliminating positions and then proposing others and then with some of the some of the systems that are they're going to try to put in place um see if maybe they those will work um but ultimately you know at the end of the day I I I certainly think ultimately sooner or later this is going to possibly absolutely be a position that is needed and I guess I I just add to that because I left the Personnel part out of it uh we do um and I'm not saying that we have significant Personnel issues because we don't but what I am suggesting is that we do spend time on Personnel of course you do in a district this size and we also have new legal advice right we have a new legal firm that and we don't yet know what the the impact of that I mean we're we're monitoring it so we want to kind of like experience see what that cost is so that we're able to clearly Define what a cost savings an HR person would be for the district and we're not in any way I don't want you to think um being Martyrs because we're not because that's a position that I do think is needed and I also want to be strategic with the committee about when we bring that position in because it is a needed position Mr NES thank you I'm trying to be good I really am but I think I think this is a position that is very much needed as big as a bigger District as we are I think this is a position that we need you know I for one and unfortunately we've put the cops on the table but I would prefer to wait and see what comes down from uh Town Hall as to what what we're going to what the bottom line is going to be and you know if you know it's you know that amount of money shot type of deal then fine we can adjust the budget that way but at the moment I for one you know leave it in the leave it in the budget for now and let's see exactly how everything uh flows out and comes out with uh all the meetings that Mr Kylie and Dr Sable Maguire have having with uh with Town Hall that that's that's my opinion thank you anyone else I I concur with that I I do believe it's a needed position um and maybe the town can see that too since they have their own HR person um and maybe there is the money for it does that town HR person serve all other departments yes yes yes again I'm having trouble understanding so I think the consensus of this committee is to leave that position on the table right now okay we appreciate your support no problem no problem is there anything else Mr Kylie uh just wanted to fill you in that um obviously we have the we have the finance committee uh Thursday at 5: at Town Hall um we will have a budget hearing on March 24th here um the the school committee budget hearing so we'll be advertising that appropriately and um be an opportunity for people to speak about the budg budget um for you to further consider the budget and then at the following school committee meeting I'll ask that you vote on uh a budget proposal so okay that's what's coming up on that front thank you Mr Kylie cofin um yeah I just want to be clear about how the whole budget thing works so if as has been suggested by some people that the salaries for the 11 full-time employees that are currently um on school choice if we wanted it to be in our regular budget and we put that to the town and the town says no so then we we we would not that this is happening this is hypothetical if we said that's what we wanted and we voted on it then we take it to the town and the town says no then it goes to town meeting and the town meeting can say no and then we just have to slash our budget is that correct yeah yeah it's pretty accurate that's pretty accurate yeah I mean the the select you know the select board and finance committee would would make a recommendation like if you voted a budget with an additional you know those let's say the the positions that are in school choice right um in the budget uh um you know you'd have a 7% you know 6 point something per budget um increase which I would assume that the town Administration would say well I can't help you with that and then um the finance committee and select board would make their recommendations to town meeting some different recommendation than what we are funded at and uh you know we proposing and then um yeah we would have to something else so it just seems I mean we've been using we used school choice last year and then if we use it this year we're just putting it off and putting it off and shouldn't we maybe take one of those positions and put it over there instead of pretending that we're not so over budget having it more out there um I see what you're saying because otherwise when you when we do run out of school choice funds um we are going to have to ask the town for more money and all of a sudden it's going to be well why do you need 6% more um I mean I know everybody's listening tonight as they do every two weeks and they hear this so um it shouldn't be gives surprise but it will be next year go I just don't know should we just push a little because it's not going away as every single person has said well to your point and I was I was going to hold off for another meeting but I don't know if me personally will vote Yes on this budget I think we need to have and maybe that can start at the presentation to fincom that I want to know that there's some plans in place for the following years that if we're going to use school choice for FY 26 well then can we at least have some kind of agreement either verbally or written or written preferably written would be better yes that there's going to be some kind of cooperation with the other departments in this town because at the end of the day we're we're out of luck come FY so I kind of am with Miss Coughlin on this to maybe break a couple it's a good point yes a couple of those positions um and if there's no interest in entertaining some kind of conversation or agreement or how we're going to handle this deficit that's coming down the road that I'll say put all 11 positions in there and then Mr Nunes can make a motion on the town meeting floor to take it out of free cash I don't think that's going to work again just speculation that's that's a that's a that's a great that's that's a that's a viable fund source that type I you get my point though I got your point AB absolutely here's my here's my concern leave this the way it is right now y for discussion purposes okay and I mentioned this at the at the last at the last meeting okay is the fact that if they cut us you know 1% that's $500,000 okay for discussion purposes okay that means at the end of FY 26 we're out of money okay you mean cut us down to 3% if if if if in their Infinite Wisdom we get cut 1% pick a number okay or anything yeah between the 4.1 and 3% for discussion purposes okay in FY 26 we run out of money at the end of FY 26 we basically are going to run out of money because that's 500,000 $550,000 give a take right okay that we're going to have to use in school either beat up the budget to find that 500,000 which is not going to be cute okay or use it from school choice okay and that in turn takes the uh takes that deficit and by the end of FY 26 going into 27 we're not going to have any money in in school choice to use that's that becomes my major concern overall somebody correct me if I'm wrong if I'm reading this wrong I'm you know no so and I have one other thing Mr chairman go ahead and I just want to piggyback and say thank you to uh Dr Sab Maguire about the speech you gave at the beginning of the budget with the Sr funds and everything else I mean you are absolutely correct somebody they need to go back and read the minutes from our meetings or go back and look at the DCTV tapes in the archives from when we got the SR funds because we started from day one we all the people that were on this committee at the time said from day one we knew that June 30th of 24 we were going to and we said it we were falling off a cliff because we weren't GNA we weren't going to have the funds and that but these were all positions that we needed because of what happened and what our students and our staff went through and everybody went through so we put these positions on which was absolutely needed again we used free money from the federal government to do it but we needed those positions and that's what we did and we said it all the time it probably every meeting that it came up about budgets or something of that nature there was a comment made by someone on this committee or maybe multiples that we were going we knew we were falling off that Cliff but we were willing to do what we needed to do to take care of the students and the staff in this District so thank you Dr saber Maguire for thank you reiterating that because it I guess has fallen on De ear for three and a half years so I don't have anything else other than thank you to you both thank you we certainly appreciate all the documentation uh I know that must have taken some time to collect all that data so thank you um to you and your teams thank you thank you anyone else I do appreciate this additional information it really helps and I hope it will help down the road uh for folks to see this it's in black and white yeah okay so that concludes our budget discussion a new business superintendent's update Dr sa Maguire some this is always news this is always that's what I was just going to say let's talk about some you know really great things that are happening because like I start off by saying as is the norm right so many wonderful things to highlight that are happening every day in the dartus schools you got to see evidence of that today right tonight this evening when you see the students come here with their families and talk about what they're engaged in during the school day that is the experience that dma students are having and that was a really great cross-section of kids that you had here in front of of us this evening to see just how widespread that is that's not a handful of kids that's a good number of kids um so I mentioned already that I was at the Dello today and last week I've been spending time in schools I spend time on schools but these are scheduled visits that we pre-plan from the beginning of the year and I was able to visit many classrooms and and when we're doing that we're doing that um and we're we're looking through a specific lens so for the past uh week and a half as we're spending time in schools we're really talking about what does literacy look like in the classroom and we have some very specific things that we're looking for and we're talking about with our leaders and we're hearing about from our teachers um and when I say that that's at all levels High School Middle School elementary tomorrow we're at the kushman and I can tell you that there's high quality teaching and learning happening in the Dartmouth public schools and I can say that with great confidence I can say that to the public I can say that to parents I can say that to teachers I can say that to students and I can certainly say that to our committee and these are classrooms where kids are thriving um just this past week I've had an opportunity along with Mrs Pavo uh to enter into classrooms where our teachers are using are piloting the the new resource that we're launching full uh fully in the fall and I have to say that we talked with a veteran teacher who's been using this resource and she couldn't have been any more excited about the work that she was doing with her students and what we're hearing from our teachers that are invested in this resource and I'm sure spreading that excitement to their colleagues is that they're learning right alongside with their students and so in this particular teacher they was um classroom they were studying um ancient China and you they had calligraphy going they had symbols they had the the the Dem dimensions of learning that were happening were incredibly complex and at the same time it really did highlight just how much our kids love to learn and so with this um new resource and Mrs poo is going to come up in the next few weeks and talk about it um what we're finding and what we're hearing from our teachers is that this is again a veteran teacher who's saying well this is really had an imp impact on my approach to teaching and it has inspired me in some ways that maybe weren't quite anticipated again an excellent teacher to begin with who's now given that tier one high quality core resource and you watch what teachers can do with that resource because she wasn't relying on that resource uh word for word right she was bringing her own experience and her own knowledge into her classroom to share with her students and it was really vibrant we saw this in a couple of other places as well so this isn't just a single classroom with a single teacher we saw this in multiple places and so when you bring that resource to life that's when you see the difference that it can make on not only teacher practice but teacher investment and student learning um so again classrooms across the district are doing this as a matter of fact we're in also a math CL a couple of math classes but just highlighting a few we are we're in a third grade math class and I had to take a photo of of the work that the kids were doing and of the board and to think about like as an elementary teacher what I saw the kids doing I think I was probably teaching in fifth grade so when you introduce those things those sort of high quality um just opportunities to engage in the complexities of Mathew again you heard that today you heard that this evening kids will rise to the occasion and teachers are seeing the benefit of again your investment by the way from what I understand essr funds in bridges and that was something that you made an investment in and we're start we're really starting to see the impact that that can have on kids um and teachers so I and and talking to the teachers about it I get so excited when teachers are excited because you walk into and they they want to tell you all about you know what they're doing with with their students and the impact fact that these resources but again the resources are only as good as the person who's implementing the resource and so we rely on our teachers but I've always said it's our responsibility to give our teachers the resources that they need to do that work with their students um I just will mention I had a the opportunity to serve as a mock judge for our robotics students um they did compete this weekend one of the team um selected to be the third place alternate team so you get to pick your team um when you're in the top three you get to pick any other team to compete with you as a teammate and so selected so one of our teams was selected and and I have to tell you I understood a lot more this year as a mock judge than I did last year so I was really happy with that but the students did a really great job in explaining to sort of me as a lay person what this robot was intended to do and how it sort of came to be and it's something that they work on all year long alongside their teachers who do such a great job helping them to prepare I'll mention uh Playbook because I think I mentioned it at the last meeting but this is work that's again ongoing this past uh week Tia rad and Audrey Audrey kersch hosted The Playbook initiative here different than the one that I talked to you about last time but this time they had old Rochester here so they had 60 middle school kids here and so double the fun and I'll tell you walking in and seeing those young students middle schoolers sitting listening to our high school students who I would say were well prepared and able to manage a group of 60 middle schoolers I'm not sure that I could say that with the conf with confidence that they had but remember that the activities that they're focused on are about empowering our middle schoolers empowering them to stand up when witnessing issues of hate discrimination and bias that is what the Playbook initiative focus is and it has been really successful this year and the DHS uh Multicultural Club is serve four members are serving to help support the students and they are going to be producing a video that I'm sure we'll get to share with you um towards the end of the year to highlight the work that they've done this year and so on Wednesday and Thursday a different um I know I mentioned World lunch language teachers last time but again they're participating in two two uh two-day professional development uh Again part of the yearlong effort to vertically align World Language remember back to our strategic plan right and it's right there it's it's um teaching and learning one and thank you so much from for Mrs C Coria who made that direct link to our district strategic plan and you can see how clearly it's understood by folks in the district and as far as uh strategic initiative uh teaching learning number two is design professional learning opportunities that are relevant and support professional growth we are in the process right now of establishing a districtwide professional development committee Again part of our strategic plan and we're going to be putting out a call to Educators to serve on this Committee in a capacity that will give them an opportunity to have voice as we plan professional learning for our staff uh so that's under teaching and learning under budget and capital Improvement we spent quite a bit of time on that tonight but uh under HR which we've put under budget and capital Improvement we need to add to um you know our search for assistant principles at the Potter and the Quinn and the associate principal have um are are ongo well we the job ads actually have closed I'm pleased to say that we do have a number of applicants for all three positions and then I have to share that uh again bittersweet news our Middle School associate principal Sarah Deus has announced that she will retire at the end of the school year and I say bittersweet because we're sad to see her go but at the same time she already has a trip to Italy planned for September so that's the Bittersweet but we are certainly grateful for the work that she's done in and continues to do in Dartmouth as I say we're always looking for monitors substitute teachers I know it's Shameless plugging but I'm going to keep doing it and I'm pretty sure we need a custodian right now and so we're going to continue to advocate for folks to um go ahead and apply for those positions look on school spring it's updated on a regular basis under a family and Community engagement the DHS Orchestra you know headed to Spain for a February vacation by all accounts it was a fantastic experience had the church shared an email with us I think Mr Oliver you were part of that email to families and it was like it was really impactful to go through just the way that she was able to articulate um and they email the experiences that the students had and the wonderful like the food the the culture everything I mean it's all in this email we could forward it to you and you'll get a pretty good idea of of the experiences the uh students had and I just have to say this because even though it I did run into a group of students who are on the trip and they were discussing how they were all trapped in an elevator for 30 minutes together so I can't not mention oh you mm yes and it it was oh were you in the elevator oh good I'm so glad um but the students were I mean they they they were discussing it and I just happened upon the conversation and they they were discussing it in good spirit one of the things they said one of them said I thought was interesting was well you really find a lot out about a person when you're stuck in an elevator with them for 30 minutes and apparently it was 11 kids but still you know a memory forever um but under safe and supportive schools I talked about uh School visits this past week and it's about seeing kids in the lunchroom in the hallway classroom Educators have created an environment for our kids where you can tell they they they're happy to be in our schools and I share one example of a student who was having you know a little bit of a hard time and I saw a teacher who wasn't even the students teacher out in the because the the principal pointed it out to me out talking to that student getting them calm down reentering them so that they could return to the classroom and I'd also mention that I met was student advisory the high school students this past Friday and I asked them how and Mr Shay is with me um tell me about how you feel about your your school is this a safe place to be and unequivocally every one of them went around the table and talked about what a wonderful place that Dartmouth High School is and how safe they are here and feel how safe they feel in this school how well supported they are by their Educators and their school leaders and that one of them even expressed that she's a senior and is sad in some ways that you can see the year coming to a close and how fast it actually all goes goes by so that's something that we can all celebrate and that's my report so thank you thank you very much and I know Mr noon has the B stuff so I don't want you to think I'm just leaving it out don't no I know no problem I I do not have anything oh basketball they won that's right won I I just already knew so it's you know what was the score2 52 to 45 wow excellent do we know when the next game is who all right Ducks Thursday night ducks Whitman Hansen next on the great on the docket thank you for that update all right beautiful that's good or bad say that though I will turn it right over to Mr nuns for his update thank you Mr chairman uh one thing and I apologize I meant to bring this up on the I had it written down I forgot to bring it up on the budget Mr Kylie with the uh with the uh break that we had at the Quinn School type of deal did we incur a decent amount of costs with that there we we did incur some cost repairing that yeah we had um an excavator you know a vender come in and excavate the the area for us and um the and make the repair so so I mean I'm just wondering that's you know I think that classifies like for Reserve fund you know on un foreseeing type of deal so I'd like to see us apply to the finance committee for uh a reserve fund transfer for uh those costs to be reimbursed it's just my my thought just that's what that fund is for certainly Falls outside of the operating yeah you know that type of deal but back to you know in in all services thank you um this past Saturday uh we had from 11:00 until quarter of 9 we had 55 groups between Cad and percussion winds uh go through this school uh great day a lot big crowds so it was nice um I don't have our Junior vity score I couldn't find it and I forgot to write it down but our vity color guide took first place in their class with a 751 and our percussion got an 896 so that's an 89.6 so those were good scores you know for this time of the year just just coming out uh this coming Saturday uh we're hosting a uh WGI Regional for percussion uh starts at 10:00 in the morning and uh the pric is $114 for preliminary and $18 for finals or you can buy both for $24 if you're going to be at both and you know both groups you know all the groups compete both in the preliminaries and the finals uh dmouth is on at 2:00 and then they're back on at 81 18 and then Awards will take place after uh the I don't the the one thing I don't know and I'm I believe it's somewhere around 5:00 the uh the first half is going to end about at 2:45 and then the finals the preliminaries end then and then finals will start somewhere around 5:00 so you'll have a couple of hours in between times so that's what's going on our color guide is our color guide will not be here it's a percussion event only our color guide has back up in Salem for the day so that's what's going on there oh and we've got High School concerts coming up we've got uh we've got the ban concert tomorrow night and then uh I think next week is uh chorus and then oestra on T Tuesday and Thursday so that's all I have Mr chairman it's quite a bit thank you Mr NES great job to all those groups anyone else right next regular scheduled meeting of the Dartmouth school committee is for Monday March 24th at 6:00 p.m.

right here in the Dartmouth High School library media center at this time chair will entertain a motion to adjourn into executive session pursuant to Master General Law chapter 30A uh section 21 A3 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining where an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the school committee's bargaining position Dartmouth administrators Association Dartmouth Educators Association and asme pursuing to Mass General Law chapter 30A section 21 to conduct strategy sessions and preparations for negotiations with nonunion Personnel assistant superintendent of Finance in operations so move second and that is not to reconvene sorry not to reconvene so we have a motion by Mr Nunes a second by Miss Beckwith on the motion any other discussion roll call please misser John Nunes yes Mary Beck yes best Coughlin yes Chris Oliver yes motion passes unanimously 4 to0 meeting is adjourned Happy Thanksgiving for

[Music] hello everyone I'm Ray and I'm Evan and you're watching Cat TV news we have some cool events coming up this week that we want to tell you about but first last Friday Cape Tech hosted a peer Leadership Summit with students from lower Kate May Regional the day featured activities and discussions they talked about how to handle certain situation and what it's like to be a peer leader and more they had pizza for lunch and lower even brought along some juice boxes and desserts the day was a big success thanks to the team effort between the staff and students of K May Tech and lower K May on Monday Cape Tech celebrated SEL day which stands for social and emotional learning last Friday at lunch students had a chance to write out smile agrams which were then handed out to students on Monday morning s SP is hoping to create awareness of the importance of social and emotional learning and to bring a smile to everyone's faces thanks to all who helped coming up this Friday is the prom fashion show and you're invited so you better go the show is from 7:00 to 10 p.m.

schools is located on the ancestral land of the oam dud and Akim people who descended from the hokam and have inhabited these lands since the time of Memorial theam whose name translates literally to people are a vibrant culture and Community sping countless Generations into the past contining to thrive in the present and carrying a powerful Legacy for Generations into the future with this acknowledgement the kraton school for District formally recognizes that the traditional caring keeping of these lands by indigenous people is an aspirational model of community stewardship that we are committed to honor with practices policy and human relations and Dr Lauren will lead us into the pledge of Al Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible liberty and justice that brings us to 1C which is our roll call we have Miss Katie Gibson McLean online she's not present with us today we have Miss SS myself Mr Jones and Miss Marquez that brings us to 1D we want to welcome everyone to tonight's meeting and remind the audience of the request to address board cards that must be completed and submitted to the board secretary Miss quis if they wish to speak to an agenda I item board policy provides for two cards White cards to be submitted in order to speak to an agenda item and blue cards to be submitted in order to speak during public comments due to the open meeting law board members are not allowed to address items that are not on the agenda and that's per policy BH that moves us to 2A approval of the agenda I move the governing board approve the agenda as presented second thank you for seconding miss all those in favor hi hi any nce hearing none motion is passed and that brings us to 38 which is governing board reports and Miss Marquez I will like to get started with you today to see if you have a board report for us tonight just a couple words I just wanted to um say I attended a couple of our meetings that the district held um in to inform our families about about their immigration rights and obviously with everything going on nationally and Ice um it's good to see that we're being proactive and um that a lot of good information is going out to our families it seems like there's a it's well received there's a decent turnout and I know there's a few more um coming up and um because you know I had had heard from a few parents that you know they're they're scared they're concerned um and so hopefully they all can can at least make it to one and get that information um so again I'm just you know happy that that's taking place and yeah that's it awesome thank you Mr Jones uh yes thank you uh good evening everyone um uh just two things I'd like to mention um I'd like to really thank the board and uh the members of the administration for hosting the study session we all attended on the 22nd um I think it's going to have a real positive impact on our district and since we have open meeting laws and can't hang out on the weekends it's a great way to get to know everybody a lot better so and then uh this past Thursday I was very fortunate to attend a Teach for America celebratory and uh a number of kraton's teachers were there that are core members we have 15 and um I just like to mention that two of our teachers were honored and I don't want to screw up their names but uh Miss Perez Montoya and Miss Utley who I believe both teach at papao but um that's all I have thank you Mr Jones Miss SS I think tonight um the one thing that I want to talk about is a little bit about what's happening in my district as most of you know um we've been taken over by a receiver and I just want to express my gratitude for everybody that works so hard um to make sure that we are far from that situation I feel very fortunate um to work with the exact team we have um I always talk about you guys because I think um you guys are like the kindest group of people um and I just am really happy to be a part of um this District because I do believe in kindness and I do believe that it really does matter um and I just want to thank you guys for doing all your hard work um it has been a real horrible experience um everybody is stressed out all the time um so thank you board also for making sure that you are highly informed um about what goes on because we also need to make sure that we are doing our due diligence to know um things about budgets and ask questions and I think that we do that all the time um and so um I'm happy that um we're in a good place so thank you for all your work thank you so much for those words Miss SS Miss Gibson McAn online do you have any board updates yeah so um first of all I just want to say thanks to everyone for um putting our all into the Saturday study session I think Super fruitful and excited to continue to do this work with everybody um just a second please just a second please um sorry uh I am home because my husband is on a business trip and I do not have child care so there's an impromptu movie night and a new more popcorn is just requested but um anyway uh I really appreciate everyone for that um I also appreciate everyone for understanding um our counseling the last board meeting all of us board members attended a meeting at the capol with other board members from around the valley and had really good conversations about possible legislation that's being that's already been introduced stuff that could possibly pass and had a good discussion um with a great group of people about kind of how we can do some work out in in that regard um additionally we met last week for the um student conduct at board advisory committee um we have several things coming up so I know tonight is our second read which hopefully will be passing those um amendments and um we're about to you know wrap up our second batch of these um and so we are meeting Monday March 17th which is St Patrick's Day at 5:00 pm Tuesday April 1st at 5:00 pm Monday April 14th at 5:00 pm and Monday April 28th at 5 5m in between there there's also going to be a community council meeting so just like last time we're going to be making a presentation at the community council when I say we obviously Jay and I are ex fio members so the committee members will be making a presentation at the community council to get feedback before we send it off to the lawyer and then present it to the board as a whole so um again our goal is to get this to the board by the May uh meeting so that um can possibly get these things through first and second read and adopted before the following school for the for the upcoming school year so lots of work being done there um and if you want to watch us we're they're all still on YouTube including our study session folks if you want to go back and watch our long study session um but thanks again for bearing with me uh while I'm at home this evening and I'll try to be as engaged as I possibly can I appreciate everyone have a good evening thank you so much Miss Gibson and we all understand and appreciate you being present even though you're given circumstances so I appreciate you doing that um for me I know that we touched a a little bit on that is the study session was great I encourage anybody to watch those some great things happened in that meeting but one of the things that really sat for me was that we went through the national Schoolboard association's eight characteristics of the a good Schoolboard member right there's certain characteristics of make a what an exceptional school board or governing body does and we checked off each one of those boxes but the real conversation was is how just because we have box checks Mark we still have this data that we have so that we cannot be complacent in checking off box boxes and saying yep we did this Yep this is what we do when in reality our data sits the way that it does so it was a really eyeopener on how we do have to continue think differently and how we have to collectively come together to make sure that the outcomes we have are better for our students because it is very easy to get into checking boxes and everything looking nice and party on the outside but in the inside of our infrastructure we have another story being told so I appreciate everybody that was here and um had those conversations too and as everything is going on you know from a federal level to the state level and everything um I was reminded of this no prize speech that Martin Luther King gave when he won the Nobel Prize um and in part of his um quote I'm going to quote something that he said in his speech he says I have the osity to believe that people's everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies education and culture for their minds and dignity equality and freedom for their Spirits I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other centered can build up and I honestly look at the work that we're doing for our student outcomes as other because we are coming in and leaving our self-centered ways um aside we're changing our behaviors and we're making sure that regardless of what's going on out there that we stay focused on what's true and that's what we can do and change in our institution to better have outcomes for our students who at the end of the day come and have no choice but to Bear whatever we give them or whatever um implement ations we have in the system so again as all the things are going on I I mind and hope that everybody would stay along on this journey with us to making sure that our kids get what they deserve um with that being said I'll turn it over to Mr Man for his superintendent report yeah I um appreciate that this Saturday study session was fantastic I still have a to-do item which we will hopefully be bringing back on March 25th which is the amalgamation of the work that the board did um with our executive team um to try to create a theory of action and so we I think we ended with two draft theory of of action and um Dr Ramos has been kind enough to offer to work with me and melding those together so we can bring them back um and currently the intention is to bring those back on the 25th um for the board to wrestle with and see if it's a fit and um see if it is acceptable um and can be approve for moving forward um something really fun and exciting happened today so um a little bit out of the blue but we have a grandmother whose son is at Larry C Kennedy School nominate um the her grandchild's teacher for a silver and so um News Channel 3 um and desert Financial came out um to present the award to miss Espinosa so congratulations Miss Espinosa and uh um they um presented her uh with the silver apple and also A1 thousand check from Desert Financial so the kids thought that she was a problem because she was now independently wealthy and might stop teaching um but I'm sure as the day went on and math instruction continued she explained why a thousand check would not replace her D job teaching so uh but it it was really pretty awesome the kids were super hyped up and excited excited and uh I think the most touching moment was both the mom and the student sharing what a difference coming to that school and having that teacher has made U for their for for uh the child so that to me was like okay this is why we're putting in the hours and the work and the things that we do um and then speaking of the hours and the work and the things that we do thank you to everyone in the district I know everybody's been working really really hard it's um a particularly challenging time of year to even keep yourself healthy because you don't know from day to day what clothes to wear what temperature it's going to be sometimes from hour to hour it's completely different um so I'm sure everybody is in need of a much-needed rest and so while we will have some staff members here working over spring break next week um and we need to be thinking about them because you know I we always appreciate them getting things ready for us to return to um I want to wish everybody hopefully a safe healthy and restful spring break and we hope to see everybody um back the week after um safely with us again and then the last thing I have is um if you are into um Miniatures board games we actually have the most unusual School District fundraiser that I've ever come across there's a club in the valley called Smite Club they run a couple of different Miniatures War gaming tournaments and they have um chosen kraton School District as their charity of choice to charity fund raise for and they will be um Saturday and Sunday um they will be in the kraton academy gymnasium um having having their uh fundraiser and that fundraiser the funds will go to support programs for us to recognize our teachers and students sometimes we struggle for funds um to do that and our other staff so um those are difficult funds to come by as a district and we really appreciate them putting that effort in last year in addition to that they also helped us cover some remaining negative lunch balances so they've been a very supportive charity and it may um if this one goes as smoothly as last year they're talking about moving their Fall fundraiser to us as well which will bring even more fundraising how sweet could you remind us the name of the organization again please yeah it's called um it's called Smite Club Smit thank you yeah what time is it on Saturday Mr Man um I my problem is I have all the operational times that they need to get in at 7:30 I think the doors open at 8 if I remember correctly and programming starts like between 9ine and 10 so but I can um I'll make sure that I um find that out and I'll have Hill to share it out with the anybody wants to pop by so awesome thank you so much for that that brings us to for which is our student outcomes Focus governance framework and update just to give a quick overview in the fall of 2023 crankton School District adopted a student outcomes Focus governance framework that we call sofg to ensure a focus on improving student outcomes this infographic oh sorry I'm reading off of the attachment of the bardocks if anybody's following provides information on S SOG and describes the initial efforts that districts has taken to implement sofg framework the student outcomes frame governance framework is made up of six research informed competencies they are vision and goals monitoring and accountability unity and Trust guard rails communication and Cal collaboration and speaking on continuous Improvement we have created goals and board goals and superintendent guard rails today we will be doing a progress monitoring report on goal one goal two and guard rail number four some of you may ask what is a progress monitoring report or why do we do this progress monitoring reports is a conversation between the school board and superintendent that provides boards the opportunity to evaluate the alignment between the community's vision the goals towards student outcomes and the school district's reality what's really happening right now with our C our or current student performance while student outcome goals and current student performance may not match perfectly it only becomes problematic when there is no evidence of student growth and progress and even if students aren't yet growing in making progress that's only catastrophic if the superintendent doesn't have sufficiently aggressive strategies in place for increasing growth and helping students make progress these are the fundamental concerns of monitoring does reality match strategies in place for increasing growth and helping students make progress are these fundamental concerns of monitoring um is there growth toward the vision and is there a strategy and plan in place sufficient to cost growth towards the vision and this is why we have these progress monitoring reports with that being said we're going to go ahead and get started on our goal number one and this is report three and I will turn it over to Dr dupin for these conversations thank you president prio members of the governing board and fellow members of executive team good evening apologize in advance for my voice just a little horse it's just allergies I'm fine the says so so this evening we will be reporting on goal one um before I begin I just want to acknowledge uh a conversation I had today which was I was part of a panel discussion about um education Trends and one of the questions I was asked caused me to think for a moment and it was what is something you've seen someone do um particularly a a coach or a teacher that really inspired you in the last few months and so I was thinking about our coaches which uh four of whom are here tonight um and curriculum coordinators and you know we've gone through this whole journey to restructure our coaching support team our staffing our model the schedules everything related to coaching has changed in this District uh within the last eight months or so and so as I was reflecting on it I thought the the people who went through that process and chose to stay with us who chose to reapply reinw and re commit to the important work of instructional professional development in this District really have inspired me over these months and so I just want to acknowledge the hard work of our coaches and curriculum coordinators because without them all of the uh inputs that were discussing the outputs and the continued work yet to do it just wouldn't be happening at the rate that we would we we certainly are seeing now or that we would like to see in the future so with gratitude thank you for being here this evening and to all of our coaches and instructional leaders who support this work thank you um so goal one focuses on our eighth graders and their growth in mathematics specifically decreasing minimal Proficiency in math the goal is that the percent of eighth graders that score minimally proficient on double ASA math will decrease from 73% in August 2023 to 48% by August 2028 this year our annual Target is to get from 77% down to 71% Ona in pursuit of of that goal and I just want to remind everybody we do have slides with your uh integrated questions and the team's responses but if at any time you want to interject any of those questions or introduce dialogue we're happy happy for that to happen here um so we're we're looking really for this year to get to 70 1% minimal proficiency on eighth grade math that's our endof year annual Target our current measures focus on eth grade students DNA math benchmark scores I'm getting down to 77% minimal proficiency as well and our fifth grade students getting from 86% to 79% minimally proficient on their DNA math benchmark assessments uh Mr Man and I had a good conversation about these numbers here so it looks kind of funny when we know that the annual Target says to go from 77 and I don't know if you can see my little cursor here to go from 77 down to 71 but the star for last year is at 70 so I just want to clarify why that's that way when we were developing these annual targets last year we were you know kind of early in our learning about student outcomes focused governance and we had had set this at 70 but our actual proficient our actual percentage of students at minimally proficient last year and eth grade was 77 so this is what we had said we didn't meet it but we instead um set this year's the 2025 Target at 71 so we're trying to go from 77 down to 71 so this star right here represents where we thought we would be at the end of last year what we had intended to be we didn't need it our actual was 77 so I hope that makes sense we've tried to break these down into um more or less equal chunks building in momentum as the years progress um but we just wanted to provide any clarification there in case in case there was desire for that and I think um Miss Marcus that was a question you had asked me the other day that I was raying on about why the numbers didn't match up so right this table reflects the percentage of eighth rate students scoring minimally proficient in math on interim Benchmark 2 now interim Benchmark 2 was taken in December so this data we're looking at there has been some time some time has passed since these assessments were collected so um we've been doing a lot of work since then but what we want to highlight here is that that we are starting to see some differences open up among the schools there there is change between inter Benchmark one and Inter and Benchmark 2 we're seeing some adjustments as students have the opportunity to engage in learning um at 8th grade so in December the rate of eighth grade students scoring minimally proficient on interim Benchmark 2 is lower than it was in the prior two years so as of December 91% of our eighth graders scored minimally proficient on their benchmark the December of the prior school year 2023 24 we were at 94% the year before that we were at 95% so we actually have our lowest level of minimally proficient students in eth grade math in the last uh three academic years um the rate of eth grade students scoring minimally proficient decreased by 12% in 2223 and by 15% in 232 for this year to get from where we are to where we intend to be we need to decrease by 14% additionally by the end of the year so for those reasons we predict that we project that we are on track to meet this interim this current measure 1.1 now we'll turn our attention to uh measure 1.2 which is our fifth grade students in math once again this is the percentage of students scoring minimally proficient in math on interim Benchmark 2 by school and by subgroup in the highlighted column in yellow we once again are starting to see some um a little bit of of difference open up between the schools but very little very little and we in fact rece continue to receive reports that the fifth grade Assessments in particular are extremely difficult and and they're challenging both to students and to teachers in terms of Designing aligned lessons and making sure that students are fully prepared so we're we are not seeing the dis the the widening of range of score in minimal proficiency across our schools in fifth grade as we examine the trajectory as of December in fifth grade our student scoring minimally proficient was 97% and that was 1% higher than it was the prior years so in 22 23 we were at 95% last year we were at 96% this year we're at 97% um now that said we do we did see substantial decreases between the pre-test and the post test in both years so with that in mind even though the trajector is trajectory is relatively flat in fifth grade we are predicting being on track to reach in measure 1.1 because it's within the range of what we had been able to decrease in Prior years we acknowledge that there you know this is not heading in the direction that we would like to see when we look at each one of those interims um we also acknowledge that given the complexity of the assessment and the rigor of the learning that it takes the entire year before kids are really going to be ready to show what they know on that fully on that end of your benchmark assessment excuse me just real quick um that last bullet point should that say measure 1.2 are we looking at is this m Marquez you are correct that is supposed to say one point okay actually the one above it as well so we'll get that corrected we'll fix that okay thank you now I'm going to introduce our team to highlight the inputs uh We've really been working to align our inputs and provide them in in more clarified and smart format so that we can be more accountable to the implementation of the inputs and the results that we are intending to achieve good evening um I know you've met the math team before but we want to introduce them again so um here's Marie twist she's our coordinator for Math and do you want to introduce our coaches that are here tonight good evening um we have Patty Lockwood our math coach at Papo and excellencia Maria guire math coach at L molinda Kennedy and Mackin and Sarah Lin our math coach at Gateway and mon Vista our coach um Casey Aken at bore prep and the Katon Academy was unable to join us tonight but wanted to be here okay so our our um first input is is the math Cadre and um for the math Cadre they've had eight hours of professional learning through book study discussion and practice and three rounds of collegial coaching teachers observe each other integrated the new learning provide feedback to each other and gather new ideas and in this qut I had opportunity to observe teachers doing this so they sit with Marie and the teachers are all at one table together they talk about what they learn and they're going to go observe another teacher um implement the strategies that they learned and they are in the classroom observing that teacher and then they come back and debrief so it was really um exciting to see them collaborate and talk to each other and give each other feedback about the math strategies that they're learning um so that what that's what math Kad looks like and that's prob how many times in each quarter there are nine learning sessions eight or nine learning sessions over the course of the entire year it's a big commitment teachers commit to coming we meet at 4 from 4:15 to 5:30 on a Thursday night throughout the entire school year for two years and then every teacher participates in a halfday collegial coaching cycle where they have a sub and release time and they're in Triads or quads and so throughout the year within that Triad every teacher has the opportunity to teach a lesson for their peers and every teacher has the opportunity to observe two or three other teachers um so throughout the year for so most teachers get to teach one and observe too is that a practice that we've had um for a while or is this something new that's been happening since the adoption of goals this is a practice that we've had for several years okay thank you um and then another input is 25th and eth grade math teachers will receive content specific coaching from math and teaching learning coach by January 6 20125 um this was a reallocation of the coaching since August and then uh five district leaders will complete 25 years of profession I mean 25 years 25 hours of professional development and math uh pedagogy that promotes student Thinking by April 2025 um district will conduct 17 hours of classroom observations in 21 Fifth and eth grade classrooms to gather Baseline data on instruction by March 28 2025 so the ones before were just the PD we have talked about before that we're continuing to show teachers um the best instructional practices for our math classrooms um and then the last one is something that we just we instituted recently where Maria is going to all of the math classrooms across the district for fifth to e8th grade and talking with our Math teachers to see what types of supports we need to plan for for this upcoming year and then also um just to see math and in all of our classrooms because when we do the learning walks I might see one math classroom she might see one math classroom but to be able to see all of the fifth through e8th grade in the district so she's still working on that um and I want I want to clarify I would love to have been able to be in every fifth through eth grade math classroom but um it's actually just been fifth grade and eighth grade math right now no that's okay um and it's been again when we go in for learning walks we're there for 10 to 15 minutes but these observations have been a full 45 minute to an hour lesson so I've communicated with teachers ahead of time that I'm coming so they know that I'm coming um and I sit and I just script I just script and listen and learn and watch kids and we're really looking for for those bright spots and what is working and also trying to gather a little bit more information about where where we might have some needs so that we can make decisions from a really informed place instead of I think we might need this I think maybe this is happening so that data has been really important for us and really interesting and that's that's what we did last year with our seci classrooms we observed all the classrooms to determine what types of needs they need this year for professional development and coaching so we're replicating that um with our math U math and we want to do the same thing with literacy and then the last one is 85% of the teachers enrolled in math crate and professional learning will complete eight hours of professional development and building conceptual understanding by April 16 2025 um and then this past Craton professional learning that we had I observed the sixth to eth grade in training and I told Marie oh my gosh there's only like 20 teachers in here we got to help these 20 teachers become a really strong team and strong uh group where they're working together and collaborating together and that's 20 Math teachers throughout the whole District fifth through eth sixth through eight sixth grade sixth through eight um yeah sorry Dr pumo I just wanted to point out like I loved your comment about SEI but I think the reason it's important that we're trying to replicate that practice is it was that SEI work you were describing was part of the methodology that was used that allowed us to hit almost three years worth of goals with our aella goal last year and so that's we we found that to be a highly effective strategy which is why the team is looking at replicating it um with the Math teachers so I just wanted to give that extra context sorry to interrupt and remind me what SEI is Structured English um emersion so it's our uh emerging multilingual students yeah I didn't know if that was clear so that's why I wanted to point out and well the other thing to add to that is based on the observations from last year the PD that we have now the teachers really love it because they know that that's what they needed and that's what we talked about last year that they need support on um teaching language acquisition so we're coming trying to come up with the same thing for math like what specific Math training do they need for next year based on these classro observations and talking to teachers I got a question some since we're on this page um says uh 205th and eth grade math teachers will receive the Contin content specific coaching um are those from like from all the schools are they like what where were those teachers got oh sorry about that yeah I can speak to that there are there are 21 teachers in the district that make up the the teaching and learning for these goals okay out of the out of the hundreds of teachers we have we have 21 um fifth grade and eighth grade math teachers so those teachers all receive coaching from our math content team that's something we've really highly prioritized this year and Miss Marquez if I may to build on um president koo's earlier question math Cadre is a structure that we had have had for a number of years where teachers choose effectively choose they opt in they want to grow their own practice in math one of the things that we learned since the adoption of these goals is that the that kind of General professional development is important and it has a place but it's insufficient to reach these goals so we've clarified that for all of the teachers that Mrs twist referenced if you're teaching F and eth grade math there is a specific coaching protocol and process to support your growth and efficacy in the teaching of math so over the course of this year we've gotten more tightly focused on supporting those 21 individuals who are um driving schools okay um so my question how always find this interesting um so I know that we target Fifth and eth because that's our goals but what kind of vertical ulation is going on like for other the previous grades before them to make sure that these kids are successful because we know a lot of the times when they're coming in if they don't know that content it's very hard to like try to do catchup time so what's being done um in in that aspect yeah I think that's a really valid question um and so it's sixth through 8th grade receives a lot of professional development in math because they are departmentalized but your question that you submitted to us ahead of time regarding fluency and what are we doing how are we building their fluency and their skills in the lower grades to make sure that when they get to fifth grade they're ready and we're still learning more we're still working on implementing plans um we have plans for professional development and coaching in some fluency strategies specifically for teachers next year and creating a math cohort of experts that could could also include possibly some elementary teachers in addition to middle school but we're still working on it because you're very right that our fifth graders especially like those our students who were home during covid and really suffered from it and some of them are missing some foundational skills but I would also say that our math coaches do plan and PLC with a lot of teachers outside of fifth through e8th grade so they're still getting some coaching support do you want me to explain vertical articulation really fast um yeah you can if you want yeah go ahead just for the other on so vertical articulation is really talking to the to the grades like either at um before they come to a gr the next grade or working with like what's going to happen in the next grade so you're kind of planning so you're having these conversations with hey like if I'm a fifth grade teacher conversations with fourth grade saying hey I really need these kids to know this um before they come so they are successful in that area we do it a lot within our own school um to help prepare them you know to be more successful because if they're coming in below grade level then you're always trying to play this catch-up game do that make sense Miss Marquez um not all the way okay um well one of the things that I'm going to point out real quick is that I do see and that what is working is that I did see that 38 of the third through e8th grade math teachers completed eight hours of focused professional development in math and I thought that was something cool that's basically helping that area out because I'm noticing that they're focusing on third graders and fourth graders not necessarily just our fifth graders and getting that eight hour extra professional development for those lower teachers and I know that we're spec um talking about math real quick but maybe you guys can elaborate on this last time when we had student Congress when we were talking to the ELA coaching teachers she I mean instructional coaches they said that something different that they're doing to is that Math teachers are now gaining also some Ela goals in their coaching because they're noticing that that's also something that's not working for them is that sometimes kids because they are not fluent in speaking the language it obviously affects their math so I like how they're now crisscrossing even though they're math they're they're putting themselves in goals that have to do with Ela is that true or what how how is that working I would say that one of the things that we work really hard on with our teachers when they're working with students is a focus on being able to explain their thinking so being able to clarify their own thinking communicate their own thinking about math Orient to other students thinking and really be able to listen to understand and have actual conversations and discussions about math and all of that can't happen without language development so our Math teachers are really focused on things like like using a sentence frame to help scaffold language for students um and our coach Patty wanted to share a little bit about the additional work that the coaches do with some of our elementary teachers awesome so one of the things we do within our planning is and getting ready for asasa is making sure that all of the students have all of the standards exposed to them and after that priority it's what do they need to be successful in the next grade level so really focus on those High leverage standards and making sure that we are mastering those with all students before they move on to the next grade level awesome thank you we've been pushing just to emphasize Miss twist comments a little bit through our learning walks and the planning process one of the things that we've identified for student engagement and and learning across the curriculum is the importance of ensuring that we are planning that teachers are explicitly planning for every lesson regardless of content time for the students to think read write and speak so those very four four very you know kind of simple functions have become part of our mantra for Effective lessons that fuel good student engagement boosts language and literacy and it boosts the opportunity for students to internalize the concepts that their math lessons are are intending for them to learn so so time to think read write write think read write speak and also listen I think I missed that one the first time around so the next slide is what's working and What needs more attention Okay um we already talked about this but the 21 Fifth and e8th grade math teachers are working with the math coach we have over 300 hours of direct planning and coaching support we increase teacher capacity data analysis and use of resources 383rd through 8th grade math teachers completed eight hours of focus professional development math instruction and teachers have created action plans targeting math instruction utilizing the datawise process so part of the datawise process is examining your own instruction and practice and then based on that you determine a strategy that you want to implement and then create an action plan um and then continue to monitor that action plan so all of our schools have created action plans and then um teachers have created action plans what needs more intent attention is increasing student engagement and opportunities for practice so just what Dr dupin just shared when we do the learning walks right now a lot of the teachers doing most of the instructing and we want our students doing most of the work um and so trying to to flip that um in our classrooms and then also um so that has to do with engagement so the students are listening a lot we want to change it to Reading Writing now I forgot Reading Writing and speaking right and listening listening too but there there's a lot lot of listening um and then um just more opportunities for them to practice and then the other one is analyze the scope and sequence of math unit guides to ensure critical content covered earlier in the year this is something that we've been talking about planning um looking at our curriculum guides and our pacing guides to see do we have it in the right order do we need to change things um we want to look at just like we hired the language consultant like hiring a math consultant to look at our uh pacing guides to see if we have if we need to adjust or change anything u based on the standards and also the state assessment is going to have essential standards now which will be most of the tests and so looking and making sure those are matching our pacing guides um and then many fifth grade teachers are behind pace and ibm2 was one month earlier this year so that was another uh the MSE that needs attention which I think we talk about later in some of the questions um so here are the question we had questions so I'm going to read the question and then our respones then Maria can add sure add to it um and we also had well Mar Bri was with us when we happen helped answer some of the questions because they're closer to the teachers and what's happening in the classroom so um the report shows progress and lowering the number of eighth graders with minimal proficiency what teaching methods or programs are helping to make the Improvement and how are we checking that these methods work so obviously students have been exposed to more of the curriculum at this point and this assessment was in December and now we're in March um we're doing a continued focus on the adopted resources to meet the rigor of the standards schools have engaged in action planning um with ibm2 to focus on 8th grade math um but we still are seeing like just a tiny bit of progress like it's not enough progress to say that the thing these things are working or having impact but we are seeing a little bit of progress um anything else okay any followups or anything on that question okay good um Maru gonna talk about this question because it's about math Cadre absolutely so the question was is there any data like surveys that Express the positives and things that may still need to be addressed from the Educators who've been in math quadre um looking back we take end ofe survey data every year for math Cadre so I looked back over the last few years and 98% of participants gave it a five out of five to the statement participating in the math Cadre has deepened my understanding of the math practices and how to teach mathematics and I have to say the one other person was a four out of five so um some of the comments that were were on those of your surveys were learning to love teaching and seeing the capabilities of my students on another level having my students be responsible and accountable for their learning their construction of ideas and confidence in their own ideas how my understanding of math has deepened and how it impacted my students into deeper understanding math Cadre has helped me gain so much confidence in teaching math and has led my students to deepen their understanding of math concepts these strategies have elevated my classroom and the level of learning happening not only in math but in every subject so and I know you've had an opportunity to preview all of them but math country is really um it's a special group because it's teachers who are very high will they're motivated they're committed and the structures are built in to support each other and also there's a there's a loving accountability built into that type of professional development when you know I'm GNA attend these four after school sessions but it's my turn to teach soon like we were at um William T Mackin today in M Ares classroom for a third grade lesson and she really pushed herself to teach something a little bit more conceptually a little bit more Hands-On a little bit more focused on student vocabulary and speaking and listening because because we were coming we were coming to observe and encourage her and at the end of the day she was like I really needed this I didn't I didn't feel like things were going well and it was just really reaffirming and really encouraging to be able to hear from my colleagues and from experts like these are the effective things that you're doing keep doing more of those and also a little a bit of feedback there were things that she wanted help and support with from other teachers in the classroom other coaches that she doesn't normally get to work with so it's special thank you I love that feedback because one of the things through this journey as well as a governing board member they've continuous told us that it's hard to get the work done when you don't have a coach by your side helping you giving you feedback giving you construction I mean um constructive criticism so I'm glad that at least this is starting to get implemented and I'm really excited to see how this turns out our outcomes too because from the responses when I was reading this feedback it really shows that it also centers the student voice component in it a lot so as we strengthen then I guess this math Cadre I'm I'm excited to see what it does because at the end of the day from just reading and what I'm hearing it sounds like it really also allows the student to take ownership of their own learning so I I love that well I think that's really important so one of a book that the math coaches and I have been reading lately is called building thinking classrooms and a quote that really stuck out to us recently in our discussion was if if students could just learn math by being shown how to do math nobody's nobody's results would look like this the state average wouldn't be 41% proficiency if kids could learn math just by being shown how to do it everything would look really different and so we need to think about how do we adjust our teaching to center student thinking student voice student problem solving and grappling with that productive struggle so that kids can start to genuinely make meaning of the math concepts and apply them to novel situations and use them in their real life and see themselves as mathematicians and problem solvers and that's really hard I think a lot for like I'm just going to use me as an example for people my age who was just shown math right and then um now like having to experience math and figure out math um I think that was hardest for me as a teacher because you're not used to it you're used to your way and then this new way um is very difficult and and the need to step back and let your kids do that productive struggle when you want to help them so bad um is I think a really hard thing for teachers awesome thank you any other questions or comments I know that we have one more um board member question and answer okay okay um how off paace are the fifth graders what is being done to support these teachers and making sure that their students are ready for the end of the year testing since we see a drop in scores between the test what extra data or teacher student feedback could help us adjust our methods and how might this information guide further teaching teacher trainer teacher training or changes in the curriculum um so here are some of our answers and you know we're still exploring the fifth grade because it's a big difference between the fifth grade and the eighth grade and how they're progressing and so um these questions are helping us think about how do we what's going on with our fifth grade um in our fifth grade classrooms and our fifth grade teams but the five out of the five of our schools are within a week of the pacing calendar four schools are a month or more behind three of them have had significant Staffing challenges with teachers starting later in the year and some resigning recently coaches have helped teachers to re reprioritize the most critical standards Consolidated less critical content brought in spired math review and implemented waggle with some teachers to help close gaps some teachers have been less receptive to these suggestions four out of 15 fifth grade teachers are mid-year hires eight out of 15 are early career compared to one out of nine eth grade teachers what can you elaborate for me what that means what does early career mean like they're the beginning like new new teachers okay so they're just um so like for the fifth grade the eight of them are are new teachers in the first three years of teaching and in eth grade there's one out of nine teachers okay thank you now I was going to ask what's considered a new teacher so first three years that's how I defined it I was like what do we what do we what do we consider in a first year teacher somebody in the first the experience in within the first three years for these numbers that's what I want got it yeah okay thank you and then like I said already we're still conducting a need needs analysis through classroom visits and Al obviously talking to our teachers um and Marie completed 13 out of 24 okay do we have any other questions or comments uh I do about uh something Dr dupin had mentioned at the beginning of the presentation uh it going back to that slide with the uh percent of eighth grade students uh Benchmark 2 scoring um and you were comparing it to the fifth grade students saying that we had disparity between the schools and that that was a and if if I'm this is part of the reason I'm asking because I don't quite understand was it that we are seeing the effects of this uh instruction and the disparity in the schools because we know which schools are following the guidelines or and the fifth graders are just starting out or is it just because this is the beginning of testing for fifth graders and eighth graders have gone through four years of it it raises a number of questions for us so is this the table that you're referring to yes so the this is the eighth grade score and when I was talking about or set of scores the column that's highlighted in yellow you see a range from 67% to 89% to 92 to 95 so there's much more variation across the school yes which indicates potentially a number of things the complexity of the the assessment might be different the students have had more time to become accustomed to the way these concepts are tested in a standardized manner um to miss A's point about how grades build on each other these kids have had more time potentially had less disruption of their foundational learning as a result of covid you know they had more skills in place when covid hit um so we do see more of a range for eth grade but then when we look when we advance to fifth grade that range isn't the same I think our lowest is 89 to 97 98 and up to 100 so it's much tighter which means more of the kids are in fifth grade locked into that minimal proficiency even after the second Benchmark so it speaks to some the need for additional um targeted support and flexibility for these fifth graders as they move up into second to sixth grade this group of kids and the reason we're looking at them this way is because these kids are going to be the eighth graders in 2028 when our big goal is our five intended to be reached so this is I mean our eighth graders right now are very very important these guys are going to really show the long-term impact of our work so our hope is we see start to see and soon more variety opening up here like we're seeing at the eth grade okay does that help yes I wasn't sure if you were trying to specify like a direct correlation between like the the difference in the uh you know scores at the schools or and the looking at the variety of scores at the school level is helpful it can be helpful especially when you're trying to determine things like how well a program is working or if Staffing changes have had a significant impact but when they're so close and there's no range across all the schools it really doesn't tell us much about what's happening at the school level okay I just you know we I think right now we're highlighting this so that we can get in the regular practice of paying attention to it and asking the kinds of questions you're asking yeah what does it look like at the school level why is why is performance looking either significantly higher or lower at one school than others and what might contribute to continued success so that's what this is intended to to communicate okay I just wanted it was rolling in my head and I wanted to make sure that I had understood it correctly the first time but And to clarify for people and the audience viewing at home thank you yeah I think you know the other thing that's important about this fifth grade data is it's kind of concerning right so when when you're seeing those numbers and this is your target group for eighth grade it really kind of puts the spotlight on that there's a need you know for us to really drill in and support teachers and helping these students you know not only move but also to catch up any foundational skill sets that might be missing that are holding them back um and I think you know comment I kind of wanted to make at the end and this dovetails perfectly into it and it's really an Insight that I had at the study session um if we were not doing the student outcomes focused governance work we've always looked at data but we at least in my experience unless the other people in the room tell me otherwise have not drilled into Data to the level of depth that we are now um we haven't had thought Partners you know asking questions and it is sometimes really powerful to have people who are not steeped the work ask questions about the work because we you know when we're deep in the work you end up with um two really kind of challenging things one is because you've been present for the whole thing sometimes you make assumptions about things and the other one is that when you work as a team together sometimes you can fall into group think so when you have people asking from outside and they're observing things sometimes those outside observers go this number looks weird what's going on here and we would be like what do you mean that number oh yeah that wait a minute that number looks really weird right and then when we drill into it we get insights and we find things that we wouldn't have found before we talked about this a little bit in the study session the level of appreciation we have for some of the insights that we've been able to gain by doing that so I'm way too long-winded tonight but the point I'm trying to make is I don't know that we would have recognized to the depth that we need to the work that needs to be done to support these fifth grade students to have them reach the goal we have set for 8th grade without having things like the progress monitoring reports the student outcomes Focus governance goals and the concept of not only picking your goal group as they appear in the current year but looking at that goal group in the year they currently exist in so for to me this is really powerful practice and even when I get discouraged because the numbers aren't where we want them yet I try to remind myself at least we're digging in and we're doing the work and for that I have exceptional gratitude to this team because they're the ones that are that are doing the heavy lifting in order to try to figure out how to move all of this forward so sorry for the long window no it's not it's much needed um obviously the data doesn't look pretty but this is what this whole framework is about is US figuring out what's going on we can't go back this is not a good or bad thing this is where we're at it's a reality and what are we doing now having these conversations having people think out of the box and be like oh yeah you know maybe we should try something different so this is what this is all about and just a reme you know reminder that this is a whole system change of almost 4,500 students over what 300 staff it's a big system change and we've only been maybe progress monitoring for the last four to five months so from where we started to now I think we've made huge strides and always it's important to give gratitude where it's due to because I know this is a hard LIF I only show up twice a day here and expect to get all this information back but at the end of the day you guys are the ones that are internalizing the work and this is what really is going to make the difference is how this is getting internalized as it starts streaming down into our district so I don't think it was longwinded it's much needed and and appreciated and and needs to be said um do we have any other comments or questions specifying to this specific goal Miss Gibson mlen you okay yeah I was just saying I agree with all that so I appreciate it and I it's it's I think a sentiment that once we get into the next one would be similar as well obviously so awesome thank you um Dr dupin or uh Miss twist or Dr Pomo any other insights or any other wonderings on the specific goal okay I think um for this goal I specifically have the answers that we needed I think we're moving in the right direction and finding information so with hearing no other questions I'm going to move the governing board adopt the progress monitoring report for goal one and it's progress monitoring report three second all those in favor I any NS oh sorry Katie I hear no Nays the motion has passed and that brings us over to goal number two progress report number three goal number two Builds on the work outlined in goal number one and the focus is on increasing Proficiency in math for students for our black students in eth grade specifically the percent of eighth grade black students that score proficient on ASA math will increase from 0% in August 2023 to 28% by August 2028 we follow the same structure as in goal one uh with the difference being we're looking for that upward trajectory of an increase in proficiency over time we're following uh for this year our goal is to get to 6% proficiency um by August of 2025 our current measure focus on our eighth graders and our inim measure focuses on our fifth graders who will eventually be those eighth graders in 2028 so one of the challenges with this school which we've discussed a number of times is the fact that the numbers at each individual School site are very very small so when we present this table and um Mr Jones this is the one I was the same one we were talking about before the difference is we still pull in the all students because it's it's if we if we were looking at just this subgroup we might be running the risk of identifying specific individuals um so the good news is when you start to get a little bit of a range of proficiencies then you might not know who it is but if there's only one or two students in this group at a particular site it might it's kind of like you're having the conversation about that child so we're still looking at this group in an aggregate way just for this look but we're being very intentional about our black eighth graders um specifically so we again see a very you know very little range in where they're at in terms of proficiency overall as a result of the end of inter Benchmark 2 which was in December so in December the rate of our eighth grade student scoring proficient on ibm2 is the same as prior years we have this consistent pattern of 0% passing um the percent of eighth grade students scoring proficient increased 4% between ibm2 and the post during the 2324 school year so we we hold on to that but at this point unfortunately I report that we are currently not on track to reach current measure 2.1 by the end of of this year for our fifth grade students again even the same pattern holds true the numbers are tighter but again there's virtually no range in proficiency for black students in fifth grade across all schools within the district we see that same consistent pattern of 0% proficiency playing out on the interim Benchmark uh and post assessments um we did have a increase of 5% excuse me between pre- and post in 2223 uh but we would need we have not had a demonstrated history of increasing by 6% in these years so in fifth grade we are currently not on PRACK to reach in our measure 2.2 so with some specific information about the inputs related to these students I'll again turn it over to our teaching and learning team so you can see we have the same inputs except for the first two um the first one is research five Equity based mathematics teaching practices do you want to talk about that at all just that we're researching we researching still in the definitely in the early phases but learning more about what Equity based math teaching practices are out there and how they connect with the National Council for teachers of mathematics General best practices in mathematics instruction and there's a lot of overlap and then the other input is 75% of eth grade students will use waggle to demonstrate progress in on scaffold skills towards the eighth grade standard so we just we we we acquired waggle this year and so it's just an opportunity for the students to practice um the skills that they um are lacking so that's one thing that we're implementing that our coaches are working with our teachers on and if I may can I elaborate on that just a little B I was just gonna say the same thing so oh yeah I just said what with the end of our pandemic relief Sr funds we were we wanted to make meaningful Investments that could be used to to deal with the lingering effects of learning loss so Renaissance is the company that brings us all of our benchmarking assessments they have a lot of different products waggle is one of them so what it is is Dr Dubin yes I just want to make sure that um that we're clear that Freckle Freckle is the part the one that we have that's part of um Renaissance that was purchased with our Esser funds and is also valuable and teachers are also using it but waggle is an embedded part of our adopted math curriculum hmh into math and so we've had that for the we're in our third year of implementation with that but not all teachers use it consistently so that's something that we've worked with our we're working with our coaches to support teachers to leverage a resource that they already have that they're familiar with that students know how to use because we know that we don't have a lot of time left in this year to make changes but Freckle is also great and I think that you should definitely tell them about it well we don't need to talk about Freckle anymore but I um I want that was my mistake wag and well there are two different products in that but they serve and they kind of serve fundamentally different purposes but Our intention here was to do something that was different for this group of students in particular but that also didn't call out this group of students in particular like hey you're part of this group you need to use this tool so we have the intention to boost all kids in eth grade but we really want to make sure kids in this subgroup have additional targeted instruction and practice and so waggle helps us do that because it's an it's a online system that allows I'm gonna let you explain exactly what do I would love to thank you um waggle has a couple of different purposes and it's very easy for teachers to use but it's also it's very grade level appropriate so one of the things that can happen sometimes when you're working with adaptive on with online platforms apps things like that is that students who are showing skill gaps that are significantly below grade level are sometimes given tutorials activities games that are very Elementary very primary looking and feeling and that does not feel good if you have a mustache so um waggle being part of our core resources things are scaled for middle schoolers so even if we have students who are working on some more foundational skills the tutorials the lessons their practice still look like middle school work um it has two things that it can do one students take a growth measure at different points in the school year it's not part of our benchmarking system it lives within the curriculum resources but that way it'll place them on a learning path based on the things that they have already showed Mastery at it's going to skip most of those and focus on skills that they need the other thing that it works for that we're really encouraging teachers to use is Teachers can assign specific skills that their students need but with eighth graders rather than having them say gosh this student really needs their multiplication tables I'm going to assign them more multiplication table work let's think okay what might be a sixth grade skill that can support them with the eighth grade content that they need so not going so far down but but what things what are the small things that are close that if we could get these skills they could apply them to their eighth grade work and so that's something that depends a lot on teacher expertise teachers have to know rather than just putting them on their adaptive path what skill could I give them to support them in their grade level learning and that's one of the things that our coaches are able to help them with does that help so as we've identified the students who are in this subgroup we've really put an EMP we've put an effort and emphasis on their coaches the coaches working with the teachers who are working with those students specifically so that those kids get first access to the path and they're part of this overall eighth grade effort for the ongoing practice and instruction that Mrs twist is describing using waggle wag you want to elaborate on any of the other inputs specifically and we've already talked about most of them all of them I'm I mean the other the new one is we're just researching um five Equity based mathematics teaching practices and um they're listed there Marie's been doing like more of the research than like we were trying to find a way how can we address um that we have 0% of our black students um proficient and obviously that's not that's not acceptable at all so what can we do differently so we're researching that we're also um looking and for a possibility of having a a math consultant help us and one of the ones we reached out to that Marie talked to um actually teaches at the University level like freshman and she teaches kids that um are I guess in a remedial um math for college that didn't um get what they need in high school or Elementary and she said most of the students that she has in that class are black and so she's been researching it and understanding how to meet their needs to help them um you know acquire the math the math standards and so we're researching different ways that we could address um this goal so that our students are proficient board members do we have any other questions comments or wonderings no Katie you okay okay um for me um and this is one thing that I'm going to you know let the board know sorry yes I'm okay okay thank you is that especially when we have progress monitoring reports that say that we're not on track to meter goals we really have to think about if we feel that team has given us enough reason to think that the last many things that they're going to do will try to move the needle for students because at the end of the day we have to adopt these progress modern reports and the outcomes are going to be we're going to be held accountable to these outcomes too even though we're not directly um in the weeds of it because we are adopting them um for me the major thing that did it for me to lean towards adopting this goal even though we're in the progress of not um meeting the goal was specifically what you guys just touch spased on I feel like that's a different strategy that hasn't been done before especially look into the cultural competence part of it because I think at one point we had a discussion that not all our black students in the district are from the United States that we have from other countries so I think you guys taking the added on step and doing the research might bring you know some new awareness to specifically that issue so for me this is what these conversations are about and the fact that you guys are taking that added on step I I feel confident that we are taking the um strategies needed to identify how else we can add on support to our students specifically in this group that's just my way of reasoning and thinking and making sure that I I think I'm okay with adopting this um this progress monitoring report I don't know if you guys have any questions or comments based off of that Miss Marquez actually yeah I do that just led me to think um do we know uh how many of of this these particular students are in um SEI or perhaps uh multilingual Learners we do 15 of our 45 black eighth graders are multilingual yeah so it's it's a um you know it's a big number and I do feel that going into this deep dive and seeing what other resources are out there and you guys reaching out to this um teacher at the univers or professor at the University level all those make me feel like you guys are taking the steps to really get down and figure out how we can do added on support to get our outcomes met um so with that hearing I don't believe we have any other questions or discussions on this Dr dupin anything else to add or Mr man we just I think we had the um there were four I think board member questions oh yeah that's right I apologize and you know we don't necessar like if everyone's comfortable with the responses that are that are presented we don't necessarily you one of the things I was taught as a much younger man U when my hair was really dark black uh was that um you know PowerPoint slide deck isn't necessarily meant for us to read it to people like the information's there and then we can answer questions and extrapolate so if what's present in those slides are understandable as you know adequate responses to the questions and we don't necessarily have to dig through them individually um but we could certainly fi any questions anyone has or any remaining wonder I agree and the reason why I like that we add these board member questions is that when we're having these conversations I never wanted to be the assumption that we're not having these conversations we not in the day obviously we are asking the questions we're getting the team to think about it and it's up on the board agenda in case public or anybody wants to come see that we actually are engaged in asking the questions and we're getting you know the feedback but I also agree if we don't have any other added on questions questions or comments then we can move on to the next one um okay I don't believe we have any added ones so I'm going to go ahead and make the motion that we adopt um goal two progress monitoring report so I move that we adopt goal two progress moning report three okay Miss Marquez and Miss SS fought for that one all those in favor I I I Katie yeah she might be putting her kids to bed okay so we'll do a hearing no nce but Miss Katie was absent from the vote thank you miss wattis all right and that brings us to our next report thank you guys so much I appreciate all your work everything that you guys are doing to ensure that we're removing the needle for our students I I really am grateful for your guys' time and everything you guys are doing I appreciate it thank you um that brings us to guard rail number four report number one this is great Mr Man yeah this um I think is uh we haven't had a lot of superintendent's guard rail reports so far um this is one of the first ones I am still going to turn it over to the team because of course because the fundamental mechanism behind this the hard um work and heavy lift and I was going to thank the coaches too so please relay the thank you to you is our massive learning walk team because we like we put learning walks on steroids this year like last year we had a small team that went out and did small But Mighty that did learning walks and they were able to get to a certain number of classrooms but now with the new methodology that's used last or this year with a larger team and I think the team's working pairs um going into the classrooms and we by and large cover most of the classrooms at every school so I know one of the questions kind of putting the cart before the horse one of the questions I received was well are we looking you know same teacher to same teacher as as we look at this data here and the and the answer unless I'm told otherwise is we're really there may be a time when a teacher was there the first go around and was absent the next go around or time when we don't get to a specific teachers's classroom but the team by and large is hitting such a large swath of the campus that we are seeing the same people again but in addition to that we're also catching up the people we didn't see the first time so um so with that I'm going to turn it over to Dr dupin and Dr pombo to talk a little bit about um this guardrail and why it really is a very effective way that we're measuring adult convenience but before I do that I'm going to a very brief story and I apologize I no no no no don't ever apologize go ahead I forgot to tell this story this morning or this morning the day is blending forgot to tell this story during my superintendent report but miss Espinosa our teacher that we went into her classroom to present the Thousand check I guess because I hang out with all of these education Geeks while while we were in the room Emily and I were looking at wow she has a really great um learning targets and success criteria on her board and so we were like you know everybody's like excited about the check and we're checking out the learning targets and success criteria so what was really kind of cool about that is you know in a random pop into a classroom you can immediately see whether these teachers you know are really kind of embracing this and what I'm beginning to notice and I'm not in classrooms as much as the rest of the team is that it's not just at the consistent is getting better the quality of the learning targets and success criteria at least to my less trained eye seems to be improving over time so well and that's why to allude to that that's why I love this guard rail and I think honestly it's one of the most important guard rails is as we look into this information the whole idea of the adult convenience part is not if we're making it easier or harder on anybody is what are we doing in our own practices and actually changing and causing people to be the next level of teachers leaders principles administrators or governing board members to get these outcomes so it's really what are we pushing people to do differently in the system to give us different outcomes because we all know in any aspect in life we can't expect different outcomes doing the same thing that just doesn't make sense and having this as a guard ra is a consistent on Forefront it's like okay but what are we doing differently what are we doing you know differently to obtain these goals so thank you for sharing that and I'll turn it over to either Dr dupin or Dr Pomo well since Mr Gutierrez is in the room we were at Gateway yesterday we saw 27 classrooms out of what 32 so the only ones we didn't see were people who were absent that day and that's pretty typical of seeing everybody so just to Mr man's point the intention is to divide up spread out and see everything and that way we really do have a comparative uh you know like a a baseline for comparison and also a thorough understanding of what the learning experience looks like for kids schoolwide across the campus I was just going to add that um we've been in in 719 classrooms um and last year it was 600 at the end of the year so we're already like a 100 ahead and the third quarter so and it has generated I think a culture of I'll speak based on my observation it's generated a culture of of curiosity a culture of interest and and to some degree some competition like there's a we have a desire to surpass our goal and so while we are acknowledged that like with goals one and two goal two in particular we're not seeing the immediate progress with the students when we look at this data we are starting to see changes in adult Behavior which is inspiring and encouraging and we believe we can build on these changes and they will eventually result in changes at the student level so it kind of plays out what is said which is student outcomes don't change until adult behaviors do we have a lot of evidence of adult changes happening and they're changes that are for the most part happening willingly because teachers want to get better they want to serve their kids well they want to do a great job and feel satisfaction in that work every single day so it's exciting this is one of my favorite parts and do Dr dupin and I had a conversation this afternoon one of the realizations I had he probably was just humoring me and it wasn't a new realization for him but you know this these indicators are what I would call leading indicators whereas the student data change is really more of a lagging indicator so you know it's kind of like you know when we look at economic indicators if you notice that tourism's down um you don't necessarily feel it in the state budget yet because it's a leading indicator you can see the evidence of what's coming and then it just takes time before that impact happens you know on the economic data in the state and the the expectation is in that same way seeing this this leading indicator data that the team's about to share with you it really should be telling us that following this data we should be seeing um an equivalent Improvement in student performance in the system so while it's a guard rail that's really intended to be about adult convenience it also is kind of like a you know buy buy one get one free kind of thing because it's also an indicator of whether we're making progress in changing practice which should ultimately then have an impact on those um other uh educational results the outcomes for our students so for this guardrail we have two interim measures 4.1 uh focuses on the percent of observed lessons that reflect a score of three or greater on the learning walk rubric for learning Target targets will increase from 26% in March 2024 to 34% in March 2025 so all the colored indicators on the right hand side those are all those are the six areas that we look at when we're in classrooms for learning walks and you can see the green area is the learning targets associated with inner measure 4.1 inner measure 4.2 is associated with the blue area which is Success criteria and and the measure is that the percent have observed lessons that reflect a score of three or greater on the learning walk rubric for Success criteria will increase from 12% in March 2024 to 20% in March 2025 so overall the percent of lessons that were observed um during learning walks that reached a level of three or higher in learning targets increased 177% districtwide from quarter one to quarter two and you can see that struggled the after the first round of the end of quarter 1 we were at 21% we made it to 38% by the um end of quarter 2 in December um which I just said and that actually exceeds the interim measure so therefore we are currently on track to reach interim measure 4.1 and we're not done yet we have I don't know if we have any left this week or not we might have I don't know if we have any left we might be done but we haven't counted them up for quarter three yet but I'm excited to see how that goes for interm measure 4.2 the percent of lessons that reached a level of three or higher on success criteria increased 133% from quarter 1 to Quarter Two so by the end of December 26% of observed lessons reached a three or higher exceeding the interim measure so we are currently also on track to reach interim measure 4.2 Dr pombo you want to jump in on the inputs yeah so um what's working as professional development and coaching resulting in teachers more frequently writing and communicating both their learning targets and success criteria during lessons um teachers are developing systematic and authentic ways to integrate learning targets and success criteria through a lesson so uh at some of our schools the coaches have dedicated like a whole day where the teachers come in during their preps and they bring their lesson plans and they get feedback on their learning targets and success criteria or the coaches help them with their planning of their learning targets and success crer IA um during their planning sessions at all the schools um and just a quick clarification because I know when we did our study session I explain what learning targets and success criteria are but I'll explain it because we have some new board members so learning Target is like another word for like what's the goal of the lesson so if for instance if the goal of the lesson is to write a summary like that's a standard um then the success criteria is what the kids look at like as a checklist or rubric to determine if they met that goal so for summary would be you know they have to make make sure they have a topic sentence and three supports and a concluding and they have to have the gist of the of what they read and they have to have evidence from the text and those would be all the things that they check off to say oh yeah I did write a summary so that's their success criteria in sosg our goal is obviously the student focus our goals that we have and the success criteria is all the rubrics that we have um to measure how we're doing um as or as the governing board has your own rubrics to measure how you're doing on sofg so that's what criteria it's just kind of a checklist or rubric to measure how you're doing on that goal do we have any questions or comments specifically to that okay perfect okay thank you Dr combo um so what needs more attention to effectively meet the level three criteria for learning targets students need to be actively engaged and reflecting on the Lear learning targets and success criteria and they should be able to explain not only what they're learning but why their learning is important so what's happening is on the rubric a one means they don't have a learning Target or success criteria a two means that they wrote a learning Target success criteria but that's it and a three means that they communicated the learning Target and success criteria to their students but it's still teacher directed um and a four which is awesome if we ever see a four is that the students know what they're learning why and how and the kids can say okay my goals to write a summary and this is what I need to do to get a summary and the kids can do their own checklist so right now if you look at our classrooms most of them are ones and twos because we said 177% is that threes now something like whatever what we just said I think for Success criteria we got to or learning targets 26% 26% so if you think about there's still like 74% of our classrooms don't have um learning targets and and success criteria or that was just learning targets right um and success criteria is getting better so that's one thing that needs more attention is having our students um interact with learning targets and success criteria um to effect effectively meet the level three criteria for Success criteria it's what I just said to the students need to engage so they to have a checklist or a rubric or they have to co-constructed a rubric or checklist with the criteria and students are comparing strong and weak examples to their work um and they have some guiding questions as they're comparing their work to the goal of the lesson so those are things that the students are interacting not just the teacher giving it to them and then and stopping there it kind of goes back to what I said with the a characteristics of a Schoolboard right just because we're checking off lists doesn't mean that people are actually internalizing our understanding and when I read this what needs more attention I thought this was beautiful because I think part of not think I honestly believe that part of this sofg work is s students feel empowered about their own learning and they feel like they have some say and they have some kind of power over their own learning so the fact that we're making sure that no the kids need to know why and how they're doing things is amazing to me because we're opening that door and having that now that dialog dialogue with the students who are actually being impacted by the way that teachers are teaching so this even this whole two-way communication between teachers and students and how we're ensuring that they all understand EX versus just checking off boxes is I think amazing so that's really awesome to see do we have any other comments or questions before we get into the actual questions okay perfect so the first question is um were the observed lessons during all different subjects and I put in here there's 17 different subjects because we try to go into every single classroom um like superintendent man shared our goal is to gain an understanding of teaching and learning throughout the entire curriculum and allowing us to ident strengths in areas of growth across all subjects so we go into PE and art um our reading intervention our seci classrooms this is just a sampling of some of the classrooms we go into um and just to give an example one of the one of the schools uh the special areas didn't have learning Target success criteria so they asked us to come back because they were going to work with their special Area Teachers on learning Target sucess criteria we came back a few weeks later and um observed just the special areas to see if that training and communication improved learning targets and success criteria so we're looking at all all of the areas on the campus pombo can I elaborate real quick on this one I promise to do it accurately we um this year one of the intentional additions to the learning learning walk team was to ensure that we have members of the exceptional student services team in on on board and so Miss Kaiser Miss green um who else Alan yeah so uh our brand new person Dr Eustace joined us yesterday for the first time and that allows us to make sure that we really are taking that holistic look and we can then break down the data for resource classrooms regionalized self-contained programs as well because these expectations are not just for third grade fifth grade or eighth grade these expectations are for all and that's a key piece of our work okay the next question is will this data you collected lead to Future PDS to address what needs more attention um and data from the observation learning walks is used for professional development planning through the data wise process where we examine our own practice and create action plans based on learning walk so step five is examining our own practice examining instruction and based on I put the steps here so after we do the learning walks we debrief and reflect um the datawise team and the school leadership team we talk about some trends that we saw positive Trends in areas of opportunity then then we discuss some next steps like do we need more professional development do we need coaching what support do they need from the datawise team but also what supports they need at their school including the datawise team is the coaches and the coordinators and me um and all different parts of different departments um and then uh they the the school shares the results with their teachers and then sometimes they talk to their teachers individually about their scores to talk about how they can improve their scores and look at the rubric um and then they have PD planning um and coaching and then we come back again and we see whatever their goal was so sometimes when we start the meeting we'll say last time our our score for learning Target was 2.0 and our goal for this quarter is 2.5 or something and then we'll start with the beginning and see at the end of that learning walk if they met that goal or not if they improved in in the areas that they were working on um so that's kind of like the cycle of the learning walks um anything else on that question on that one so are the scores shared with the teacher then by the their principal or by their coach or how the principal the principal shares it and and some just share like whole group like this is what we got as a school and some of them share with them individually and meet with the teacher and sometimes we have people reach out directly and ask us like I had a teacher today say how' it go yesterday can you share my scores with me individually so that's what I mean by like a culture of curiosity around the work we're starting to see that happen a little bit more frequently we give each leader a snapshot of their of their spreadsheet we don't share the whole big thing with everybody because it is Teachers practice data but we give them a snapshot that they can then use for those individual follow-ups and conversations and then each of our curriculum coordinators also prepares a set of feedback slides to show progress over time that the leaders can use with their um their teachers on each campus and to go along with this PD like just to go back to the um our training for the multilingual emerging multilingual students is that the teachers because I go to the PD with them not not all of it but a lot of it they ask me like come in my classroom for the learning walk I want to see my score and so it is changing where they want us to come in and give feedback and see how their scores are um the next question is with lesson observations now meeting or exceeding our targets what parts of the recent teacher training or coaching have worked best and how can we make sure these practices practices continue across the district um so I just share that each all the schools have action plans that they're implementing um we it's a collaborative environment of support with the leaders and the coaches and the department um working together for depending on what their action plan is when they were um implementing their action plans on their campus with their teams all of us went out to different campuses support um the data wise process on their campus um now the challenges which I talked about a little bit is everything is still teacher directed and compliance driven and so we need a deeper understanding of uh why it's so important that our students know and understand the learning Target and success criteria and interacting with it um and our future focus is our students to have understanding and ownership of learning Target andx criteria um and transferring all of that to our students and then um this is just example of the rubric so when I explain a one means they don't have it a two means it's there but it might not be alive or um might not be written correctly um or the students don't know know it and then the the three is the learning Target is align to the state standard written measurably and communicated to the students um and then four is includes all the descriptors learning Target and the students are able to articulate what they're learning and why so that's a difference between the one and a four um another any other questions about that so do you guys talk to the students on the learning walks too like hey what are you learning today that's part yeah really good question so we always ask them uh what are you learning and and sometimes they're like I don't what's your learning Target do you see and we we keep asking questions ask them what's your success criteria um you know how do you know you got that Target and we try to get down so we don't look because they don't know us like look at we look intimidating coming in so um yes we talk to now they like oh I saw you last time no I had the I had a student well yesterday I think were you with me mar a student like come give me a chair like sat me down like came gave me it was a eighth grade student so was really nice yeah and I think beyond that it shows our students that we're willing to hear from them to help them better understand things and it builds this trust right I think it's hard for us to get anybody to learn anything when there's no trust build and this is also a culture change of like no we're here to listen to you guys nothing that you guys are doing is wrong it's how do we as the adults make sure that we're understanding where your gaps are so we can provide those resources and help you so I love that we're focusing on making sure our students know where they're at that they can explain because the more empowered and I'm always going to keep saying this the more empowered they are the better that their education is in the system so I'm again I'm in awe of hearing all these different things that we're doing to make sure that we're reaching our goals and our guard rails thank you for that and I I just want to really be very clear and honest about the the future focused piece of this while we are excited about the growth and progress that's been shown this year we're still in the high 20s to low 30s like 36 so this this work isn't going to really show up for kids in terms of our other our goals until we get to 80% and above until 80 % or more of the lessons every single day have all these criteria we're not going to see the academic gains that we have established as goals for ourselves so that's the work leading into next year um and then there's so much possibility and opportunity with this talking to the kids I me when we ask them to tell us what their learning Target or success criteria are the range of answers is vast I mean and a lot of times it's very low level not sure they don't exactly know they're like well I I'm learning math today yesterday I had this conversation with a student I'm learning science like well science is really big what part of science are you learning right now they're like well uh the sciencey part so so there's a lot to do to get to the point where we are 80% at a three or higher when with learning targets and success criteria so I would encourage the team to stay the course with this because it's it it is a it is defin it definitely touches adult convenience because it's hard work it takes time to do this and to do it effectively and we've got a long way to go before it's going to really result in those academic gains but you just beautifully also translated why we it's important to have guardrails that also reflect on how we're going to access our board goals in the outcome and that was a perfect depiction of that because of this guard rail it directly ties in onto how we can get to our ultimate outcome of the goals so this all ties in together um Miss Marquez did you want to say something um yeah I I know were Mr as well I just had a quick question the you I think you said earlier that these are all announced or planned with the classroom with the teachers they are scheduled in advance they don't know typically teachers know that we're going to be on campus but they don't know at what time of day we're going to be entering their classroom so they know that visitors are on site but they don't know like from 10:15 to 10:30 we're going to be in your room okay yeah and um the question I had has to do with so like the the rubric that they have are all the teachers um is that passed down to them like from from the principles or or how are they you know is this something they learn in like the you know onboarding or they they all have it and then they also have done PD on on the rubric um and then sometimes if the action plan just focusing on one part they'll just use that one part of the rubric I mean sorry that one part of the learning walk um if they're just working on learning targets they'll just use that and sometimes they even make it more detailed for them but they do it in PDN coaching okay and it is a what we did with the to create the learning walk rubric is pull out pieces of what's in the Danielson framework for teaching which is our teacher evaluation system so it's very aligned to what everybody's trained on and evalua ated on we just picked very specific parts to focus on because of their leverage or their value so it shouldn't be new um to anybody there's we put it out we put it out in the newsletter as well we've given examples we share pictures we really trying to emphasize the the the content and how to access the expectations in the rubric if I could add um to the question about the um you know do the teachers know if if the team's coming when the big team goes out they do because you know it's and that is the data set that we're looking at but those are not the only um times that administrators are and coaches are in the classroom evaluating teachers so it's you know I only throw that out there because it's not like we're only we're you know this data is completely opposite of data we have from other observations right so because one of one of the criticisms we heard years ago is well they know when you're coming that's you're coming that's the only time they're doing this right U not necessarily to these specific items but that came up as a concern around earning and so um I think it's important to be aware that there there are other times that people are coming in to observe classrooms and so there are other snapshots of time and sometimes those snapshots of time are unannounced so we do have other ways to well it's not to the level of detail that this is it gives us a way to correlate or coroporate that you know this isn't like a one-time behavior that there's a little bit more consistency to that behavior um the next one is um well this is a really good question like because we talked about this how do the improved scores and lesson observation relate to real gains in student learning and we talked about how we're not going to see that yet but I also can share which I shared earlier is that in quarter two because this is what showing Quarter Two 145 classrooms are still at a one or two out of around 200 classrooms so it's still most of our classrooms are only at a out a one or two and we're still at uh that compliance level and our students are not interacting with it yet so part of the focus needed is going beyond that compliance understanding practice and coaching support student engagement ownership and student need more more opportunities to interact with the learning targets and success criteria so that's our work that we're still working on some of our conversations from the last round were on like um if it's an intervention lesson or a small group lesson that's focused on foundational literacy skills or foundational numeracy skills how do you effectively create learning targets and and success criteria for a lesson like that that's intended to move quickly in a routine fashion so those are some things that we can clarify for specific groups of our teachers because it can be cumbersome if you're trying to do a whole whiteboard full of learning targets and success criteria for some very specific skill-based lessons like that at the same time if it's important enough to do during the school day there should be a learning Target and some success criteria so we've got some really good examples popping up across the District of how teachers are doing that just with little laminated cards and they kind of write them with the kids okay so the goal for our lesson today is we're going to do the long eyes sound or whatever and then we'll know we're successful when we've done this and this and this easy so we just need to replicate those kinds of practices and I think that'll start to help lift those ones and twos into three territory and I love that idea and thank you for sharing that because as an outsider in like you said sometimes we have different perspectives to me that makes sense to be doing that because on the small stuff if something is not being understood you can nip it right then and there versus it going so much long and then by that time you have all these different elements that led to them not understanding why they're doing you know a are in sux criteria or whatever that looks like so thank you for sharing that that's that sounds very valuable um do we have any other questions comments or wonderings on this specific guard rail I look up like I'm I'm good okay perfect I thank you for all the information and with all that being said I move the governing board approve guard rail 4 progress monitor in report number one second all those in favor I I any nay hearing none motion passes once again that concludes our student outcomes Focus governance um progress monitoring reports I appreciate every single one of you and this um dialogue back and forth on how we can make things better for our students that brings us to item 5A public comments Miss quadis do we have any public comments okay thank you that brings us to item number six approval of consent I'm going to do something a little bit different today I'm going to move the governing board approve consent agenda items a through F and H second all those in favor I I I any nay I'm sorry Katie was that an i or an a it's an I thank you yeah it sounded like a Nay so I just wanted to clarify and get that on the record thank you so hearing no Nays motion passes what we're going to do with G which is the approve the award of RFP 25003 I'm going to ask the governing board actually um move this to maybe another future Ed agenda item there's certain things that need to happen still that we're getting in the work or are getting worked on and I had a conversation with our superintendent and at some point if you guys would like to follow up with him you can but I'm going to for the moment um move the governing board um I think I think Miss War said the language that we need is to pull the item okay perfect so I just just leaves that like that and then we're just going to discuss it in as a future correct so that's all I have to do and that's fine thank you madam president okay thank you all right that brings us to 10A which is the fiscal 2526 budget projection and I'll turn it over to Miss Shapiro thank you me get set up with our projection I was actually expecting some Applause well done Mr um Madam president governing board members and superintendent man I'd like to uh share the fiscal year 2025 26 budget update this evening um I did want to just uh talk about the budget very quickly uh especially for our new board members we're in um midcycle so what happens with uh with our budget is that we have some statutory guidelines of when we propose and adopt our budget we do that in uh July June and July uh and then through the year we would revise that budget to uh take into account information we didn't know when we were proposing and adopting the budget so I'm we'll be working on this in the future and we'll be sharing a lot more information on the budget process so you guys are kind of coming in midcycle I'm starting to prep and prepare for next year's budget that I will be bringing to the board in June and July and I do this before we have any kind of information and before students show up so a lot of this is projected information and uh fortunately through the budget process we are allowed to revise the budget so we have some opportunities during the year December we brought a revised budget to the board um and at that point in time we knew that we had some student data that had not gotten into the um calculation of our budget and because of the way that it works we were required to reduce our budget even though we knew those students were here and that they were going to be recalculated in we then have additional opportunities to revise the budget to be as accurate as possible and captures much of the allocated dollars uh to kraton so that'll happen in our final revision uh before May 15 and just to point out some of the interesting things that happen in the budget timeline I just think it's interesting you have to be very careful so in um we have to propose and adopt uh propose by July 5th adopt by July 15th we have to revise by December 15th but we have to revise before May 15 so you really do have to pay attention to the statutory language uh to ensure that we don't meet you know mess up the deadlines uh for that so I just wanted to kind of go through that and then this is the process that we use to um start talking about the things that will IM impact next year's budget so I do want to um point out some items of note as we're as we're working through this process um we definitely have a continued alignment with the student outcomes focused governance and we're doing that at a deeper level in the budget process than ever before and I think that um a part of what's leading to this is very exciting uh myself as a CFO for kraton I'm participating in a a student outcomes focused governance cohort and that's bringing Just deeper and deeper understanding of how we can connect and align our resources it's a very important process in sofg uh so that's adding that I'm already excited about budgets I talk about account codes and this is just been um even better because being able to connect the things that I do on a day-to-day basis with direct correlation of student outcomes is exciting and we're doing this with deeper conversations with curriculum and aligning with that progress monitoring that we just spent quite a lot of time uh we put a lot of work and effort and so the conversations that we are having are leading to some very focused budgetary choices the entire budget is student outcomes focused right um and we have to really be careful about additional expenditures and how we align it so what's interesting is it's a lot of work at the beginning but what we're doing is we're working on a framework a framework through the budget process and this is happening through things like procedures and written processes um of forms that allow uh any entity to request budget and then when they do that request how does that tie in to student outcomes and so these are changes that we're making on kind of those deeper levels at a framework so that it's kind of like Brea if I have to stop every time somebody says something I have to say Okay how does this you know where does this connect and how does this affect goals and how how is this supporting guard rails so I I want to be very efficient so that's part of the excitement is building that framework so it's like breathing the framework is already set up it's already in alignment so the processes and procedures the end users are understanding what's going on so it's a lot of exciting stuff happening uh in the budget process that not happened before and just to add to that in case anybody didn't know Miss Shapiro and Dr pombo are doing theg 9month cohort so I think this is where all this excitement is coming from because they're actually going through the implementation cohort of how this looks like on a more District level implementation with our resources and with all the work that we're doing so I want to give added on gratitude for that because that's an added on thing aside from what they're doing here in the District what they're doing it's it's not like a paid internship so I appreciate you guys taking the time to go into that 9-month CER to really start aligning everything at the district level for our resources and working together it's awesome to see our CFO and then our curriculum Department working so hand inhand to ensure that we're getting these guardrails and these goals met so I appreciate that thank you yes and it is exciting because in that cohort there are a lot of curricular uh instructional folks and not very many budget people um so I get to have a voice in a different way and to me it's it's exciting because um being able to see that direct connection is not something that is typical in a budget process so that part uh and that alignment I think we're just we're kind of at the Forefront and the the choices that we're making I'm being very careful because those could be choices at other districts as they come into this type of framework or um an so FG focus of student outcomes I want to be an example and I want to show uh the good uh choices that we're making especially when it comes to a framework and foundational and an operational standpoint um the other thing is that enrollment decline is something that we always have to have on our on our radar and something new that um we all know the impacts from from the immigration changes that was a little difficult I'm already have a pretty good process to kind of uh use a um a formula to anticipate enrollment Decline and there's reasons why you would want to be a little harsher with that enrollment decline or a little less and in the budget process it has different impacts as to how those numbers end up at the end but you really want to be as close as possible you don't want to SW so sorry swing one way or the other uh but with the immigration changes that kind of brought a new element that I had to add in mid stride and I was looking for some research based processes to give me something that I felt pretty comfortable with um so we did go back and we looked at some of the impacts directly on kraton with s sp1070 which is when we had this type of scenario happen before and I thought it was pretty interesting I I researched from uh school year 20067 to 20242 and um during that time and we're going to talk about ADM not enrollment so we have to project declining enrollment and then do a calculation to turn that into average daily membership and I might have uh shared this in past meetings but what average daily membership is is it a mechanism for them to assign a dollar per pupil spending amount um but I explain it like this we are funded on the first 100 days of school if a student comes and attends all 100 days we have one ADM if a student comes and attends 50 days we get a half of an ADM if another student comes and attends the other 50 days we get a half of an ADM so now I have three students who all three needed resources but my total ADM for funding per pupil funding is two so ADM looks very different than enrollment uh I have to na navigate both numbers to project budgets and so when we're talking about this enrollment decline I am looking at ADM uh our our published ADM over those years so what's interesting is when that SB 1070 came in 2010 we saw the second highest decline of 287 ADM from the previous year we dropped that was the second highest in that time period between 20067 and 2425 the next year after it had been implemented we saw our largest decline of 472 ADM very impactful we range an average between 180 and a little over 200 on a normal year with no other impacts to that so is it's a high amount it's a high amount I mean and it's something that we have to put into that calculation um so we did adjust that enrollment decline taking that into a factor and I added that to my formula we also have to take a look at all of the risk assessments those are the things that are happening in current events we know that we have Frozen federal funds um we're anticipating that we'll be able to finish out the year with our awarded and allocated funding sources so far um federal funds and Grant monies work on a reimbursement so what that means is they say you've been awarded a million dollars you're allowed and allocated to spend a million dollars when you spend it we will give it back to you so I have to spend the million dollars first and then I request a reimbursement of the million dollars and then that's how grant funding works so at this point time we have about $800,000 that has been awarded and allocated but has not been reimbursed because we haven't spent those dollars yet we spend until the end of the year so that's staying on my radar because in those competitive grants uh if for some reason it comes down that we we're not going to get our allocation uh that's a part of my funding formula right now taking into account we may need to to cover by $800,000 if for some reason we aren't receiving the monies that we have already been awarded and allocated for this fiscal year so it's a little scary um for next year it gives us a little more time to plan we're anticipating a 25 to 30% decrease in Federal grant funding as we go through this process um but we're also anticipating to 20% decrease in state grant funding that's um pretty much directly affected by our poverty rates and in the state of Arizona those poverty rates are decreasing or what I think you know a lot of it is obviously housing is going up and so you have to be at a certain income level to afford housing here in Arizona it is definitely affecting poverty rates we have a future Bond sale um that will need to get a credit rating for uh inflation is also a factor right now in the state of Arizona we receive a 2% inflationary increase each year to our budget or the lesser of real inflation inflation right now is tracking less than 2% which means if it is less than 2% we will get a less than 2% increase in our budgets that's gross it's a very interesting thing but they don't they don't compensate for when it's more than when it's 19% during Co can you please explain who they is Arizona legislature thank you um maintaining adequate fund balances uh is something that has become very important during these riskier times and it is also directly I have been asking for um a fund balance process from the board we've had study sessions discussing why it's important to the district's future fiscal Health to have a savings bucket that we can deal with any types of emergencies it's not necessarily going to solve it but what it will do is give us space to come up with Solutions in $800,000 potential uh funding allocations that we might not get so those are the types of things that the district would uh utilize fund balances for I also had about a 500,000 in Lost budget capacity in December uh my anticipation was that we would receive that back through uh getting that student data up to the state uh there were some struggles with that there were some changes that were outside of our control and that kept us from getting that student data there again it's a timing Factor so I needed to have some capacity to cover that until we figured out the problem so that's what fund balances are really important um when I started here in kraton I wanted to make sure that the governing board knew that I was going to be adding that to the budget process it's been uh nice to bring forward something that we did discuss in a committee uh talking to that committee we determined that a 10 to 20% range for a fund balance policy is adequate to allow us to go less in years that we don't have as much risk assessment going on and then go more when we have more things that could potentially uh affect the budget so um I'm pretty excited that we've put that in place it is a part of the budget planning and I apply that range based on this risk ass assessment each year that I share with the governing board so um those are parts of the pieces that affect the budget so this is taking into account our budget that we already had and then we talk about what's going to come into next year's budget and what's going to come out so it's a plus and minus and we go through those factors and then come out with our Surplus or deficit there's a adjustment um I have to pass 100 the 100th day and get that data that happens in January we don't get the new numbers until February so in March I finally can adjust this number I feel very confident with this number this is the number that our budget will be revised in May to recapture these dollars so this is a a a variety of things this was the Lost student data that have recaptured um this is our finalizing our enrollment projections because I'm trying to determine what our enrollment is going to be in January a half a year behind or ahead um so this is when we just kind of make it all right I feel very confident with this number our uh 2025 26 projected enrollment decrease was increased from the last time we saw this slide um that is factoring in that immigration impact so that uh inreased that negative number that'll be coming out of our budget um I also adjusted the base support amount that's that 2% inflation or the lesser of what actual inflation is just through 1.5 at that right now um that will solidify as we get closer to the projected budget process or in July and June our medical cost increase came down a little bit uh they refactor that and they try to give us the best deal possible that is now at 4.73% are inflation cost of goods and services so the inflation cost of goods and services are going to be what we anticipate um items that we normally purchase the increased cost to them what they cost last year may not be what they cost next year so we do apply an inflationary increase to those goods and services just out of curiosity where do you get that rate um there is a tracking method that you can go online and see Arizona's actual um inationary current projections they're usually three or four months out uh so they project forward I try to just kind of go current and then I update each month as I watch their Trends so I can send you that website please yes um the Arizona's retirement system uh it's the we had a decrease of 0.27% that is that um ah I should have put the total number I think we're at 12 .2 sounds zero yeah I think that's where we're at right now I think we were 12.47 and that's the percentage that goes into the retirement system that is the employer paid cost and employees it's the exact same so we uh 100% match what employees put into that bucket um I try to add into the budget when I feel like we might have some attrition and because of the declining enrollment attrition is just positions that are going to no longer be needed so some of those or we can't fill the positions through the year so we have an open position and that those dollars come back into our budget since we didn't spend the money so I'm anticipating um that amount there that's just a a formula in my budget process it's been pretty consistent I don't change it very often um and it seems to be pretty on point with what happens each year our budget balance carry forward this is a very estimated amount what this is is the dollars left over after we get done spending for the year so I'm trying to project out how much will be left off what we didn't spend in our budget so if our budget is $47 million uh we anticipate that 5.7 million of that will be not spent we'll be carrying forward that amount in the budget balance carry forward that's very estimated because we're in March we're not done with the year we will be spending up until June we then have two months of incumbrance to clear up those invoices um like utilities you don't get the cost until the next month um so we'll kind of know what this is by October 15th when we file our uh annual financial report which is the ending report that says how much do we spend any questions about I this one's um so the reason that it's estimated is because right now let's say I think I'm going to spend $1,000 at Office Depot this year I put in a purchase order for $1,000 throughout the year I spend a little bit here and a little bit there I need some paper pens pencils at this point in the year maybe I've spent 200 of the thousand in the financial system that whole thousand is kind of holding out over here in case I need to spend it so by the end of the year I will know that I only spent 200 the 800 will come back and then I'll be able to calculate what that budget balance carry forward number really is our meet and confer um this was a very interesting number last year we had recommended $200,000 go to uh trying to address the compression issue that we have in the district there's a variety of ways that compression occurs we took this out to the compensation and compression committee we did the initial dive into compression and all of the complex things that are affecting compression compression can be um somebody brand new uh starting in the district is making very close to the amount of someone who has been in the district for five years that's one form of compression uh there could be compression within job duties so maybe I'm uh supervising someone and I'm making less or very little more than that um there's a lot of different factors that affect compression the the committee after doing a pretty decent deep dive into compression and all the different factors determined that the quickest way to affect compression in this year would be to roll the 200,000 back to the meet and confer process and they're recommending to put that towards longevity longevity then allows senior staff to have um a stien that goes towards their base pay and I can't remember the levels we at um Dr Lauren is it 1,000 2,000 4,000 and 6,000 are the different levels for longevity pay and that 6,000 is 15 years or more so you get a stien for 6,000 if you've been with the district for 15 years or more so they're recommending um that the meet and confer process take a look at adding that 200,000 to increase those longevity stiens well and then um I'm going to skip over the meet confer recommendation real quick but I wanted to point out that um at this point in time we've calculated in a 15% fund balance Reserve in the minino fund that's part of that fund balance that we've talked about a few times that kind of comes out first even though it's at the bottom so that we can maintain that and then um that communication that we were talking about with alignment with our sofg goals and the Deep dive we've been doing with curriculum some of the processes that we have found to be super successful we want to expand and um so that has been identified through that deeper level process of um aligning the budget increase so this is a new expenditure into the budget that has a direct tie to governing board goals so that's kind of how that process worked through and it was pretty fantastic because uh Dr pombo and I worked through that had uh really solid conversations of how we connected those um developed interim measures to ensure that we can monitor and ensure that these additional expenditures are doing what we anticipate them to do so it was a fantastic dive into what the process should look like when you're in alignment and you need new expenditures to come out and then after all of those things were uh put in place it did leave us some balances to take back out to the meet and confer uh process which as I stated the last time I shared this Slide the outcome looked gloomy I was being very conservative and I also had stated at that time that a lot of these numbers were unknown so because more of these numbers are known and I feel more confident in them it allowed me in the budget process to determine that 750,000 would be a fiscally responsible number to bring to the committee um and that we would be able to maintain those dollars ongoing these are ongoing dollars these are not one time either the microphone is muted or something is it all right I can hear you now okay sorry there you go Katie can you hear me yes I can hear you now okay good um um so that 750,000 H is just I don't know what will happen with that that's just the dollar amount that has been taken back to the meet confer process but I did want to give like some reference of what that amount could cover um I know that we had some concerns because we had used one-time dollars to change the student teacher ratio from 20 27.5 to 25 to one um this amount of dollars could cover a 26 to1 ongoing to uh teacher student ratio so that wouldn't be onetime dollars this would be a a ratio we would be able to maintain moving forward um or this could potentially fund it right now it's like a 2 point 2 1% salary increase that's across the board if every staff member were to receive an increase um or this could be a combination of other items that meet and confer comes to through their interpace negotiation process and so there's a lot of things on the um table that they're discussing that they feel would be very impactful to align us with meeting our sofg goals so um I'm not sure what it would look like but that's the dollars and those are some of the things it could fund I'm sure at the end it'll be a combination of of those those items any questions on the slide do we have any questions or comments okay heing N I do have a couple of questions or wonderings um first my first question is is this 15% fund balance Reserve from previous slides um it was my understanding that we had about 7 point something million dollar in that is this $5 million in addition to or does it restart everything and it would only be $5 million in reserves moving forward it it's uh restarting and um so moving forward so in our previous budget we had a reserve of about $7 million with this new proposed we would be taking a Reserve balance $2 million less yes and that was because last year we put $2 million into salaries and that was what funded the um salary ongoing salary increases last year so we knew that our fund balance Reserve was a little high and um this is a calculation of previous year's expenditures and what will be left over for this year so that's the 15% and that's why it's 2 million less than what you would have seen last year is because it it changes on the slide okay and then okay that's the first one by last year do you mean December or do you mean the last cycle the last budget buget yeah which is this current one I guess oh since this is not I did something um I know the computer died but I don't want to can you see your your slides or no I can see them I just didn't I'm not sure what happened dang it I just couldn't get through a whole night we're getting there my next question is on the money um m&o budget surplus deficit um let's say we did all these things right that only leaves us with a with a surplus of $79,000 yeah and again that number is going to change that is not a hard right number and it it's really minuscule when you're talking about a 47 million dollar budget so um let me go back to that it's just math right now what I anticipate is that budget balance carry forward estimate that estimated number that's going to affect that additional dollar St there um I could have just rolled that up into some other number right now again I still have numbers on this sheet that are unknown uh and as we get closer to the known numbers I'll be able to better determine if there's a surplus or deficit so one of the things that I recommend when we're in the meet and confer process is that meet and confer um because again I'm trying to Crystal Ball this what's going to be happening next year there is a potential I mean the governor just came out talked about how she wanted to fund prop 123 um they're talking about putting some of those dollars into classroom site fund classroom site fund that particular bucket of money has supp planting rules so I'm going to be interested to see how they determine that uh it's a restrictive funding source it doesn't allow me to just use it um so we'll see how all of that pans out but I anticipate and hope that that will actually give us some additional dollars into our budget so in the meet and confer process one of the discussions that we have is work on contingency language so that if we have additional dollars over and above the fund balance Reserve that we need for district fiscal health and all of these other factors that we need to pay for our budgets or our expenditures next year um we work in contingency language so if there's additional dollars on the table we talk about what we would do with them and what meet and confer would recommend okay thank you for answering those questions so I have a couple of concerns with this budget um one of the first concerns that I have is that our identified sofg prioritized teacher support professional development training has a lower um dollar amount added to it than the me and confer recommended budget of the 26 in one ongoing teacher student ratio um I know it's not a big dollar difference but if we are going to be serious about adult convenience and really changing practices in our system I believe that our budget should reflect more of prioritization on those sofg identified um you know mechanisms that you guys talked about versus the the increases or that kind of stuff that that's this is just me speaking for myself and after I give my point of views other people can share their thoughts so that's one concern I see that um by this budget it doesn't for me personally it doesn't give us enough of a like no we're being serious how we are really going to align our budget to these certain priorities and also um the National School Board Association Federal advocacy which we were just there in January um in Washington DC put out a statement and um I'm also concerned that we're being less physically responsible with our carry forward money because right now in federal legislation um particular and I'm going to read off what this says this ISS of particular interest with what's going on in the budgets at a federal level it really impacts K through 12 communities what it's basically saying is that there are instructions and plans in the house education and Workforce committee to find at least $330 billion doll in funding Cuts as part of the wider process so$ 33 billion dollar they can assume and mostly do believe that it will be cut in Medicaid supplemental nutrition assistance program which is snap school lunch programs which I want to remind everybody that we do have a Federal grant right now that allows us to have free lunch and and breakfast for all our students so that's something that could potentially be cut and student aid programs we don't know what that looks like but with all the ricord that we've been hearing it it could directly impact the stuff that we're doing so with all these outside factors going on I would hope that the meet and comer team is taking really account to those things because I don't want to be in a position either where we say hey we've been able to carry this 7 million carryover we can be a little bit loose more things have been you know good and dandy but in reality we don't know what we're going to face in these next six months to a year so I would hate us to be in a position where we have extra dollars and we're saying well we should spend them just to have them um I understand what having too much money may look like you know to other people or all those ins and outs but we're really in a in an interesting time that I don't think any of us have been in before and so and and especially here locally all the attacks on public education like we're really going to have to start getting really smart and really conservative and I I'm I'm it's almost interesting that I'm using that word when it comes to our budget because we don't know what's going to happen and in order for us to really focus on these goals and really make sure that we are giving our students these resources knowing that you know in the next month our Federal grant can go away to feed our students so there's just a lot of things out there in play that I really want us to sit and think about and those are legit concerns that I have I don't think that we should be having our carry forward balance less knowing that we have greater dangers of funding getting cut than other years that just doesn't make sense to me um so those are just my personal thoughts of seeing these things I don't know if anybody else has any questions or thoughts on that but that's where I sit on this um it's only March 1st and there has been so much that has happened already and unfortunately the majority controls that narrative right now at a federal level at a local level we have some hope with the governor that we have but even then everybody's you know playing a game of who gets reelected or not and at the end of the day I'm not into this work to get reelected I'm into this work to see where we can make the most impact to make sure our students are not giving you know that we don't have this data anymore and a lot of that is going to come from these conversations in the budget because if we don't have the money then we can't do implementation so those are just my thoughts and personal feelings on the concerns that I have moving forward with this type of budget I know nothing set in stone and I know that this is why we have these conversations but those are real concerns and wonderings that I have that I think at this time we need to be a little bit more conservative when it comes to our finances and uh Madame President I do want to uh point something out on the meet and confer recommendation that is based on an sofg guard rail for the superintendent I believe that's number three um so I didn't lump it together with the other sofg alignment uh process uh because it was a new process with a curriculum so I I I'll take responsibility and apologize for the fact that I did separate those and it it made it appear like it isn't part of an sofg alignment um but I do believe that the dollars that we are taking to meet and confer is in order to support that guardrail so um in my mind that is also s sofg um the whole budget is uh in my process so just taking that into consideration that is why it was separated out um and I absolutely am hearing you [Music] um I'm already pretty conservative in my processes it has been a factor in my career in 25 years of school Finance I agree that we need to be conservative I do want to assure you that there were percentages included into this calculation um I am accounting for the dollars we could potentially lose in this year in this budget I'm also accounting for the 30% that we've kind of fallen on with that Federal impact the the Bild you know I I have to go somewhere with it and 30% is higher than I have ever calculated uh for a federal funding decrease I also added a state level decrease for State dollars of 20% um and again I've never calculated in a separate decrease amount in my budget formula so I do want to assure you that I have been uh factoring that into the budget formula um it may not be enough uh but I'm hopeful um but I'm taking everything that you're saying into a huge consideration I do want to assure you that um it is a conservative budget and I do feel like it's a fiscally responsible budget I feel like as we move closer to adoption and we will have a lot more information and I can um firm up some more of these numbers I stand ready to change this and bring this back to the board if uh additional information comes to light so at this point I'm feeling very confident in this budget and I am taking everything that you're saying into consideration okay thank you um do we have any other comments or questions from our board members okay oh yeah go ahead Mr johnes yeah I I think this budget tracks and um I recognize you're being conservative and uh when you're talking about when other people see this this is the first time the public has seen it now I believe I brought this out before when the numbers were a lot different yeah with these numbers so there will be some members of the public in our community that will see like uh president Korea was saying uh concern for for the meet and uh confirm number being higher than the student out student outcomes number of 650,000 750 to 650 I think there's going to be a lot more members of our community that are going to look at that 750,000 for meet and confer and what did we say that 2.21% and then you look at your number for inflation the one I brought up earlier I mean we're all going to be paying that number yeah and and I brought it up because I think it's low yeah so um that's probably going to change with what happened today in the news another you know Great Piece of new I know so that leaves Ming Target so in reality I mean what we're talking about for the teachers is half a percent or somewhere around there so I don't see it as uh necessarily or other people in the public aren't going to see it as uh hey we're slanting our budget to making teachers happy only or you know not changing adult outcomes if it's explained right I I think they'll understand so uh so far this is a good conservative budget I appreciate that thank you any other comments or question questions thank you Mr Jones all right I don't believe I hear any thank you so much Mr Shapiro for all these updates and I know none of this is easy especially in the times that we're in right now so I I appreciate you staying on it I know that we've had even other conversations about stuff that's going on at the legislator that would impact our finances so I always appreciate that ongoing communication that we have and us really trying to work for what's best to get our goals met thank you all right that brings us to our next agenda item which is 11a and it is the new policy first read JB which is our policy on safe and inclusive School environments um as we all know we have also um hired Copper State education Alliance and they're a nonprofit that helps us with our policy work and the way that they help us with our policy work is making sure that our policies reflect the needs and the values of our community because at the end of the day we that's how what we're supposed to be here at the governing board is that we're a straight reflection of the values of our community and I'm really happy to have this conversation and about the inclusive School environments I I applaud Copper State education Alliance for bringing this forth and also applaud our attorney for working hard on this and not only revising it but actually getting some help from an actual immigration attorney I know that it was a co-op between copper between our attorneys between immigration attorneys and this is what it's all about is getting the most amount of resources that we can to ensure that our communities our parents and our students overall feel safe in their schooling environment regardless because that is their fundamental right is to show up to school and receive an education with no fear and and that is like one of the major things that I think this policy will also Implement and lead the district is to make sure that we're all staying on the same level the same processes are going from the top bottom to ensure that um we all are on the same page when it comes to this especially given everything that's been going on with you know misinformation about ice coming into schools and hearing all these things um I hope that everybody read this thoroughly and then we can have a conversation of any edits that we would like to see or any comments so with that I don't know if Mr Man you have any other added on comments and if not or if so after that I'll go ahead and turn it over to our board members yeah thank you very much Madame President I I um am very appreciative um to have the opportunity for the board to consider this policy um I know they you know one of the conversations that we've had is that um a lot of what's in this policy is actually captured in other areas of policy because it it ties directly to protections that are in State Statute but I think what's important about this particular policy is it pulls all of the critical pertinent pieces of information into one place and also makes it a lot easier to communicate the governing board's policy-based stance with members of our community and our families because one of the you know there's really two challenges we're facing one is um the potential for inappropriate levels of enforcement but the other one is regardless of what happens the fear that gets created for our families which um becomes an impediment to their ability to have their kids in school comfortable and learning and so this is just a way for the for the board to um verify and make very clear the district's stance on this and Empower um the district Administration to know exactly how to handle these situations and it actually just creates a lot of clarity for us we haven't had specific situations that have come up yet but we've had a couple of recent scares and so just the work that we had been doing in relation to this really kind of helped create Clarity for us on how to engage when there were concerns uh around these issues so this will just create even more clarity and that's one of the things I want to highlight that I'm really glad that the Administration has taken it upon themselves to try to implement this in the system because you know we do have this communication in all board members and the respective schools that these issues have happened at um that there was some processes put in before this policy was implemented so that just shows me that the administration is hearing what we're saying and even though it took us this process to go through an immigration attorney and our attorneys and after copper created this and all these different factors our Administration has been listening to us and making sure that these things are already living in our system without the policy being done so I'm I'm thankful for that too um so at this point I will turn it over to our board members to see if you guys have any questions any added input or what kind of discussion you would like to have Miss Marquez yes um so I do have a question and then also a recommendation or Amendment um uh DSO so District safety officer is that something that we have a position yeah so this um it's a great question um Miss Marquez this is not a specific position we have in the district this is a way to indicate to staff who the responsible party is that they reach out to and so um when we look at board policy one of the things we talk about a lot is often it will specify the superintendent which means superintendent or design very often or it'll it'll specify principle which can either mean only principal or princip principal and designate um and so it was important for for this policy to have that DSO designation because there are times when certain people aren't available and we want to make certain that our teams at our schools know who that designated person is and who their backup is and who the backup's backup is so when something happens um there is somebody that is available to them so I'll give a great example we have a couple of team members who will be at a conference um in New Orleans this week so if that designated officer is offsite this way this policy is structured it's not in that person is available those people are available by phone but just in case there was a reason they couldn't be gotten a hold of the policy doesn't specify a specific individual it specifies a specific role which allows us to make those adjustments or if someone were to leave the district we could go ahead and let um the administration of the schools know who the new DSO is whereas if we said well it's always the assistant superintendent for teaching and learning and then if that position is vacant at any given time then they don't know who is it that I'm supposed to be reaching out to to get support with this issue okay thank you um so then um I also had a proposed addition to um sex uh sorry section six so um and this would be just to kind of tighten it up a little bit because you know have being out there talking to to teacher staff families um I think it's you know it's important that that it's more than just the administrators registrars and front office that get training so the bullet point the the wording I drafted up would be so the the next kind of main bullet point would say something along the lines of all District employees including any contracted workers and then the sub bullet from that shall be made aware of this policy and then after that if deemed necessary by the superintendent or School principal shall undergo training to ensure proper adherence to this policy and this is um for instance any any staff member who could potentially give access to a student so for instance a bus driver if ice is there at the bus stop and they're like hey we need to get on here and find Bobby or whatever the bus driver knows like no you can't or they they know what they got to do because if they're okay sure hop on there it is um or if like a cafeteria worker is is coming in for their shift or a maintenance workers is coming in and the doors open and Ice just happens to be right there and they're like uh okay come in um so I think just to really tighten that up and cover those bases and then um the reason I put contracted workers on there is because we've got for instance like YMCA might be there after school after hours and what if again Ice shows up at that time and then you know this contracted worker doesn't know any better and gives them access to the kids or so that was my my thought and my recommendation on that I'm happy to hear any thoughts or feedback on that board members do we have any comments or feedback I have some things go ahead Miss Gibson McLean okay so I think that well one I'm I it's interesting to look at this it's just super it's organized a lot different than all of our other policies and so I guess that's a little jarring um number one is we have the policy and it starts at number five safety and privacy measures so am I missing something where's one through four no I I um I think something got okay this started with number one so we need to get that corrected that that that was number one in the in the original draft that I remember seeing so somewhere along the line in working with the file I think the numbering the numbering um string got broken gotcha I think that if we're going to keep things as is as written that we'd need either to if we want to keep things as is then we need more definitions or we need to change some of the terms further on in the in the policy and so what I mean is um for example excuse me I think um sections currently seven and eight um are conflicting with other um policies only because we are referring in these sections to law enforcement even though further up it seems clear that this is only dealing with immigration law enforcement however there there's two issues here right like we have ice or Customs and Border Patrol there's a bunch of different law enforcement that could be involved and then given the situation federally and here in Arizona we could be dealing with a situation where County Sheriffs or local police are deputized to um enforce immigration laws so things start to get hazy but what I'm saying is is that for example we just passed um ji or we just passed jic tonight and we also passed jic I'm sorry not jic but jic and then I think I didn't look through every one of the ones that we passed I'm sorry but I just know oh maybe it's in JK yeah so essentially what I'm saying is is that there's some things in this new policy that conflict with what we've already said in terms of um permitting law enforcement on campus contacting law enforcement or depending on then this is where I'm getting to definitions what we mean by access do we mean access to physical property access to people or just access to information I know that there's an access control kind of definition there and it says controlling access to school property but it also seems like access could be defined in a number of ways in this um in these sections of SE in in section seven um so I just have some wonderings there about what all this means because in my mind if I were to look at number seven it says response to law enforcement on campus and so for me that would mean literally any law enforcement and request for Access or information is very broad um what does that mean I don't know I get that it's kind of explained a little bit further down on the third point maybe but I just feel like this could have a little bit more of a narrative like in the same format of our other um policies to give a little bit more information or guidance um just because I think this is and then we you know we haven't presented jih yet but I know it's also gonna it's also going to conflict with jih in terms of you know there are laws obviously where we have to contact and give information and access to law enforcement depending on the situation right there's that but other than that I would love to and we've tried to adopt in these policies kind of a a thing like this where um um and if if one of those if the uh if a serious offense hasn't been committed and there's no mandatory reporting required then I would love and I think it was the intent of the committee that law enforcement not be permitted on campus unless they have a warrant to search something at the school premises and then also even if they have an arrest warrant that we work with them to try to arrest a student outside of school hours or off school premises now um given that those are the things we were kind of moving in the direction of and these other policies I would just want to make sure that everything's kind of driving together because right now I know I'm sorry I'm not it's 8:45 and I'm tired so I hope I'm not just repeating myself a million times I just feel like there's a little bit of work to be done here to clean this up to make sure we're all clear on like is this only talking about immigration related stuff or is this going to interfere with other law enforcement issues uh in other policies so anyway that was a lot of the same thing over and over my apologies I'm tired no it's okay and I think you bring up some good point so this is part of this discussion and what we can do I think is to make it a little bit easier is we can obviously not take any action but what I would love for us to do is send maybe helda and Mr Man an email with those added on things so as we're continuing to work at the student conduct um information we can match it with this and then maybe when we come for a second read especially with what your input was send an email Mak making sure that that stuff does get Incorporated because I do feel that this shouldn't be just the principal in front office thing it should be a pipeline down for everybody anybody that has any connection to students should know what is allowed and not allowed of these entities so these are really good points and this is why we have these discussions so if we can send those in an email and then as we're going forward bring this as a second read and hopefully that um interplay and give our attorney a little bit more time ALS also to incorporate what does that look like for all staff or what Katie just brought up um I know there's some urgency with this however um given you know obviously I have a job that has lends me some Credence in what I'm saying here but at the same time we have a meeting on March 17th for our committee and I'd really love to get their feedback because I wouldn't want to be the only one giving feedback in this instance um even though I have obviously some things that inform that there's some other things that don't inform them so I'd really love if we could FastTrack this to at least discuss it a little bit um if I could get some help with some of the feedback that I'm providing just so that I'm not the only one sending an email yeah absolutely that that works too and yes this is obviously of you know we need to get the ball going and get this done but I'm also going to stand back on what I said earlier that I'm just really confident that regardless of this policy or not and how long it takes us to to put it in writing I feel like we do have the internal mechanism already set up that they're listening to us we're we're making certain statements and we're making sure that that integrity at least from what the governing board is moving towards is not being you know overpassed while they're in in in school so I do appreciate that I do understand the urgency in this but I do feel that we should cross all our tees and da eyes especially as we're moving forward with the revamp of our student conduct policies I asked one clarifying question really quick so I know Miss Marquez you were looking for that training to be extended to you know the all all staff and to those contractors I don't know that we have the ability to provide training to those contractors so what we've been doing in lie of training is providing the information to our partners so that way it's disseminated would you feel like that's adequate because very often what's happening with our teachers is they're not specifically named in this policy because we're training their administrators who are then relaying that training onto the teaching staff so I think that's why it was structured the way that it is um because we've even gone an extra layer we had a teacher reach out um from one of our schools saying well we have concerns about how do we support kids in the classroom who are stressed out about this and so you know we took the next step to put together actually members of our curriculum team worked on it um and they moved very very quickly um to pull together some support and then that was rolled out for our teachers as well I would never claim anything we do is perfect but very often it's kind of ahead of the power curve of where others are and so we want to stay ahead of that curve but I'm just concerned about making a policy that's requiring a training that's for every staff member in the district that may be difficult for us to actually deliver right yeah and so I just wanted to to maybe read it again but I did word it in such a way so so they should all be shall be made aware of this policy and if deemed necessary by the superintendent or the principal because sometimes there's group on campuses that only work on that campus and if the principal is like yo this YMCA person needs this training right you know and then and then not like you know I I think the training would be whatever that principal feels need if that makes sense so not like a full-on training program or if there's like a teacher who's like I really want to know this front and back you know then that can be you know a sit down with the principal so yeah no thank you for that clarification I just didn't I didn't pick up on that nuance and that Nuance feeds directly into what my concern was so I appreciate that Miss SS I just have a clarifying question because I was thinking about this with the response to the law enforcement um that Katie just talked about isn't that like what we already kind of do though even on all law enforcement levels like this whole section because we can't give out that information without parental consent right yeah no that that is correct and and as I mentioned earlier much policy is reflective of of content that's already in other policies this one is really intended to be more specific to the immigration concerns and so um I believe the language was was was broadly used as law enforcement here because of some of the threats at the federal level to use local law law enforcement to um Implement immigration warrants and um detentions and so um there may be a way that we can create better Clarity around that here um at this point I think and just to add sorry to clarify I'm not just saying the law enforcement part I'm saying on the very first bullet point staff will Direct all requests for Access or information information I understand is protected by fra but access does that mean people does that mean property what are we talking about that is not clear in this policy and that's what I think also conflicts with other policies that we have and in what situations because in our other policies we're not requiring people to contact the DSO or the legal counsel in those situations necessarily and so that would put on added on burden in those situations that's not already there right right and I don't think there's an intention to add that burden because you know that that is to some degree part of normal school operations that certain things like that happen and people are already very well trained and they already know who they reach out to if they need additional Authority or to clarify something I think this is very specific to the limited scope of um of these immigration concerns and and I'll just throw this out there one more thing I think then I get the title of this and it's a nice title I think that the title should be more straightforward than just safe and inclusive School environments I know that's very I I understand that probably there's a place you're coming from but I think then given the concerns that I have and given how broadly that title could be adopted um I think we should be very directed in what this policy is then I don't know what that looks like but I think the language should be clear in terms of the title of the policy I agree yeah and we're not married to the title it was the title that the original recommended policy came to us with and it's all right do we have any other comments or that and thank you for that back and forth conversation and we'll continue going through that back and forth and making sure that it is aligned and we get some feedback from the advisory committee as well any other questions comments yes Mr Jones just a thank you to miss gobs and mlan for putting all those discrepancies out it's good thing we had a lawyer look at it this is also why that committee loves having her ex officio yeah just write my name on your arm if you're ever scared you're gonna get arrested you call me at any time all right perfect well thank you for that meaningful conversation on the safe and inclusive environments I don't believe I have any other questions or comments so I'm going to go ahead and move to our next agenda item which is 12a future agenda items do we have any other future agenda items um yes I would like to add one I want I want to start looking at policies um based around like diversity equity and inclusion especially with like lgbtq rights in schools okay perfect thank you um Miss Marquez did you have a future agenda item um well I had a question from the one that I submitted last time oh the cell phone policy one yeah was well that do I need to bring that up sorry just I I guess it depends on what your question is um okay I guess will that come up then on a future meeting do I need to resubmit you don't have to resubmit anything what happens moving forward from this is when stuff is put in future agenda item um myself and the superintendent create the agenda so depending on where we are at times we have discussions and that's how we start putting stuff back on the agenda so um it just got put on last time we thank you yeah but no that's a good question on clarifying how future agenda items work no that's a really good question all right hearing no other future agenda items I will move over to 13A which is our motion to adjourn I move the governing board adjourn second all those in favor I I any nce hearing none motion passes thank you very much W noes everybody drive safe I don't know about y'all but I could say nay we could hang out I'm on my computer you're not good night Miss Gibson McLean good night

e e e all right we're going to go ahead and start I'd like to welcome everybody everybody to our uh March 4th 2025 work study and brief board business meeting we're going to call this meeting to order and we will jump right into our agenda 2.01 fiscal year 2024 single audit reporting package Dr McCord thank you Mr President govering board members as you see before us we have Jackie maton over finance and uh our associate superintendent Bonnie Betts over business services and I imagine they're going to tag team this and the next one probably too right yes so there is only one presentation though we're going to move right into 2.02 as part of this presentation so will hesitate for a second if there's any questions but it's really one presentation so so good evening president Thompson governing board members Dr McCord so Jackie and I are here to oh thank you yes yes Jackie and I are here to discuss the single audit report results as well as the usfr compliance questionnaire which is an entity specific to ad uh to Arizona and Arizona Department of Education and the auditor general so um so uh today's report we'll share the results of the single audit report and then we'll show the uh share the results of the compliance questionnaire and then Jackie will complete the presentation talking about the best practices that we that we have um in place here in the finance office so first the single audit report so the single audit report is required for district spending in excess of $750,000 in federal funds so it is very specific to federal funds uh in for this year the single audit report did result in an audit finding in 2024 related to the emergency connectivity fund which which was a new Grant application for Gilbert Public Schools I wanted to share with you that the Gilbert public schools has a a very comprehensive internal control uh framework and that framework is intended to both avoid an error but also detect one so in this particular case our internal controls were not set up to necessarily um uh find the error before it find the issue before it created the error but the internal control related to our external auditor did detect it giving us the opportunity to correct the issue and so that's what we'll talk about tonight so these are the audit finding details so the new ECF Grant again emergency connectivity um fund Grant and that was uh in this particular case it was applied for during school year 2122 so two years ago and it was awarded on December 11th of 2023 so during fiscal year 2024 this grant generally we would not have applied for we do not have the demographic that made us eligible however due to the pandemic they opened up the rules and it was strongly recommended To Us by our um consultant uh that we go ahead and apply for it and so this was something new for Gilbert Public Schools so uh we did receive the res uh reimbursement of over a million dollar in January of 2024 and but the purchase order referenced on the original application which was submitted in May of 2022 did include um Federal sr3 fund expenditures of $141,000 $141,000 445 uh for Chromebooks uh resulting in the federal fund then reimbursing another Federal fund because Esser was identified on that purchase order and had we had the internal control established where we were reviewing the applications before they were actually submitted we of course would have seen that immediately and asked them to choose a different purchase order so that was the um the general finding um so we will definitely make sure right now that we provide Financial oversight of all state we're going to apply it to State as well as Federal fund applications and we'll require Finance approval prior to submitt of any application initiated by any District department or School regardless of who is actually um helping us create that application so um and that's this process I wanted to make sure that you knew has been implemented and now we are applying it to our e applications as well and um so again it's our internal control worked because we have a external audit and they detected it and now we're able to fix the issue so it does not occur again and that is all that we have regarding that single audit and we're very happy to answer any questions that you might have regarding that finding so I I did have one question so now we'll oversee and just review those applications before they go out to make sure that that just one more set of eyes to make sure there aren't those kind of Errors that's correct okay thank you and again just to be clear there is potentially $141,000 at risk that we may have to return to the federal government but just a reminder we did receive over a million so it was still a very positive occurrence that we applied for the grant because we were able to receive um just under $900,000 worth of Chromebooks to assist our students here in Gober Public Schools you can take it out of our board salaries okay thank you thank you for that I appreciate the assistance can I ask so so did we receive a million dollar from the federal government for this like we we paid for the Chromebooks and then we received a million dollar correct and so as of now we don't we don't know whether we're going to have to pay that back or not we do not know and is could that have money been used for something else well the yeah the issue is that had we had we had the internal control setup where we would have reviewed it prior to submitt we would have found another purchase order that didn't reference Esser so that that that we could have had another $140,000 worth of Chromebooks yes that's correct so is there still an opportunity to amend that and submit a different purchase order there is not we we went through that road and we we begged borrowed stole prayed um to no avail Finance people should never use the word stole I just G to say that bargain bargained bargain yeah that's probably yes yes I was just going to say that that we we are always on top of our finances to the best we can in a very complex system and we always try to use that money very wisely yeah the issue too that it was applied for back in 24 it wasn't back in 22 it wasn't clear whether we would get it even though we were encouraged to apply for it and we didn't get notification until 2 years later that just adds some complexity to the issue when it's a you receive the funds two years later so so at this point are we just we're just waiting we're just waiting that the auditor general or the state department of Ed will act and let us know probably as soon as we as soon as you all uh approve the single audit and we send it up to the Department of Ed and the auditor general and then we'll see what happens and we'll be watching it closely so the people who decide understand that there was other things this could have been applied to right sure because I mean that would possibly influence their decision sure sure so let me clarify based on um Dr Robinson's question so we received over a million dollars but it's only $44 ,000 that are at risk this is in question about the appropriateness of that part of the it was definitely not appropriate that what's in question is whether they're going to request that it be returned okay all right thank you okay okay with that I am happy to hand over the 2024 uniform system of financial records compliance questionnaire portion of this presentation so go ahead Jackie thank you Miss I will dri drive if you like okay thank you perfect uh so as Miss Betts mentioned the uh 2024 uniform system of financial records is I kind of think of it as our Playbook if you will this portion of the audit really gets into our day-to-day grind and and in into the weeds of coding and revenue and things like that so um of 171 yes or no questions that's it it's either yes or no that's the only way the Auditors can answer we had nine no answers of non-compliance so um I don't think we would ever see a district with zero because they'll just keep looking uh but for a district this size only nine is pretty remarkable so I would like to send a shout out to my team um it is really quite impressive um their to speak to their commitment to compliance so we had um two findings in expenditures one was the one that we just talked about in the single audit the other one was we had a student Club account that ended the year in a negative balance of $126 at the year end part of our year-end process is moving fuel expenditure reclassifying fuel expenditure to the schools and departments this particular student fund um Club had spent all of their money then we did the journal entry um and we fixed it but at technically at June 30 it was in the negative so that was the other one so we will certainly check balances after we do all of our year-end work in the future and then under fundraising uh this is a management procedure finding I'll call them findings but they're not findings uh this it refers to our policy um that the governing board approve all student Club fundraisers this is not this is a new finding for us but we haven't changed our process we haven't taken that away from the governing board there was just a a heightened awareness this year on the audit in this area so we will bring this to the policy Committee in April and most likely we'll provide you a type of fundraiser list to approve um and possibly delegate depending on what the polic policy committee decides and I would say I don't think we've ever approved at at that at the board level I mean the Administration has approved but it's always a little tricky because the statute will say the board should approve but then you know I mean it's like says the board should build buildings we don't build buildings but um you know it's a little tricky to decipher whether it should be something that we actually do or we leave it to the administration to do that kind of approval which is what we've done they've always been approved but more at the administrative level that is correct and that's the type of stuff we'll talk about in policy to be able to give that uh breath of authority when it comes to something like that okay and we have hundreds and hundreds of student clubs that do fundraisers so do you want questions now at the end oh please as you go so on the expenditures on the on the student Club I mean that that seems like a really easy thing to happen like I'm surprised it doesn't happen more and so what I guess what are the controls were there controls in place and it still just happened or did we put controls in afterwards cuz that seems like an easy error to have happen the system actually will not allow an expenditure out of a out of any account um other than payroll Nothing Stops payroll uh but Student Activities when they try to put in a purchase order if there is no money the system will not allow it allow the user to move forward so there definitely is some some balance there some checks and balance also when the requisitions come to finance for approval um um you know we check to make sure the accounting is correct and there's budget available or cash available in this case um this resulted because we did a journal entry so that was um an entry that we did in the in the general ledger there was nothing to stop that from happening because it's a it's a reclassification of an expense um if there was a different type of fund that ended in the negative uh let's say of Student Activity um auxiliary operations for example field trip fund that rolls up into one fund in our general ledger as far as the Auditors are concerned but the Student Activity accounts are all individual accounts so this one particular out of the thousands that we have ended up in the negative and that is an audit finding in this case yeah well no it's it's remarkable that it's just one do do the clubs know that they need to keep a certain amount for that allocation for the fuel after because it seems like they see in their account oh we have $200 to spend they spend it and then the allocation happens after it seems like that would happen frequently uh yes most of them carry a balance and they are aware of the fuel for those for those uh clubs where the fuel charge would apply so it is a relatively new process the last three years we've begin begun allocating out fuel charges happening through um through Transportation um so it's I mean I we would have easily found it had we been looking and so that's the added step that we will do once we do a journal entry is we will be sure that we're looking thank you you're welcome uh so next up is accounting and coding uh during the year end process again to clear some stale liabilities one liability was charged to Food Service fund which is required to use a different function in the usfr um than 1,000 and we accidentally charged it to 1,000 so um it was an incorrect combination in our account code structure each account code has 25 numbers and there's seven elements and it's kind of the square peg round hole situation if you will um so the 510 fund doesn't go with the 1,000 function um we have hundreds of thousands of account codes in our system uh they all tell a story but there are rules around what can go with what so that's a another check that we will uh do at year end that was a direct result too of turnover staff turnover so we have um three new staff members um in finance right now and we had quite a few of our accounting team um separate all at once so it's it was directly during that time it was over the summer and so um got to give our staff members time to learn the rules so and they didn't leave because of us they didn't leave because of us of course not so next up is property control and inventory we had two no answers here uh the district is required to maintain a stewardship listing of all items over $1,000 um and perform uh inventories on that against that list so during the audit review there was a discrepancy with three of the items at one particular School two were on the list and not found at the school one was at the school and not on the list um but these are old items all of them were under $2,000 each so chances are they were disposed of years ago and you know just improperly um so then the system didn't catch up to know that they were disposed of and then also uh due to staff turnover an inventory was not completed within the three-year cycle at mosquet high school and we now have a new a new schedule and we are on track and then finally student attendance so um two of these three findings the absences were not calculated correctly and the third was a withdrawal date um on the form didn't match the student information system and these are uh relatively common findings in student attendance and then finally of Celebration we did have several areas of the usfr compliance questionnaire of 100% compliance uh budgeting cash and revenues there were 30 questions related to that uh 26 questions related to procurement uh payroll and HR financial reporting Information Technology um all were 100% compliant so we're happy about that that's great and then we wanted to share the history of the no answers in the usfr compliance questionnaire when I returned to Gilbert in 2018 we had 29 um the report has changed a little bit but now we're down to single digits so we just wanted to send another shout out to to my team we're um very proud of this okay and then best practices uh the finance department will review and approve all state and federal grant funding submitted by all departments and schools Student Activity fundraisers will be approved by the governing board by type annually and we'll talk about that more in policy committee Financial processes to include inventories and prop prop control will be consistently reviewed and updated expenditures and account code compliance will re be reviewed monthly actually it's reviewed daily as we see um expenditures requests um for epars come through and then student attendance trainings are offered numerous times throughout the year uh for new staff they are required to attend so our attendance team is very good about that and finally we will need your roll call acceptance on on 6.01 and 6.02 for both of these reports are there any other questions why do these reports require a roll call vote instead of our standard it was changed statute a couple of years ago maybe two or three years ago it used to be a roll call Vote or a just an ordinary vote but it was changed by the legislature I think about 3 years ago so it calls for a roll call vote I wonder what the I don't know what the reasoning was behind if you can understand the legislature please explain it to me I think in in the past I don't know that there was a was an acceptance or an approval of any kind for these for these right so I think the the state and rightfully so wanted to make sure that the governing board is aware of these so yeah so there's probably many school districts that in the past hadn't even presented the single audit nor the um the usfr compliance questionnaire so this mandate that it be presented to you I have a I have a question for the the history of us doing these questionnaires um you know it has gone down over the years are they asking the same questions and are the areas that we you know had no on last year are they the same as this year or they different great question the the the questions have changed over the years um they've increased and decreased over time over many years um but the last few years they're very very similar there isn't anything Earth shattering they do sometimes change the verbiage a little bit they'll add some take some out uh a couple years ago there was a big focus on Information Technology um those all of those findings are cleared now so it just um kind of rotates rotates through uh the coding is very common student attendance is very common just because of the of the amount of data that we have and and then how do we um you know I know there's going to be uh things in place to kind of fix some of these issues how are we reviewing it to make sure that like you know it gets fixed and it doesn't become a problem in the future well that's where I work with my team we go through the go through the findings first of all um we all have a copy of the usfr chart of accounts and we make sure that we review that before we add new account codes um or create a new process for setting up account codes um so it's just it's just a matter of training and communication they also go through training with with attended Specialists principles those on campuses um to make sure that those th those things are getting put in the right way kids are getting coded the right way when it comes to like I said to the attendance side but also there's often turnover in those positions year over-ear and and so um human error occurs and that's what 99% of this stuff is and so um they do a really nice job of trying to make sure everybody's up to date and then checking that data to make sure it's as clean as possible but sometimes things get missed or get uh input the incorrectly so it's a lot of data lots of so and I think um if you look at the student attendance findings that's the most difficult ones for us to control at the finance office we have one student accounting professional actually two we have two student accounting professionals at the district level but there are attendance clerks at every single school that turnover as Dr McCord shared um and so that's when where the errors are occurring is at the school we don't have a lot of control over that so we can expect to regularly see student attendance issues but the property control inventory issues we should be able to resolve account coding as well is something that could absolutely happen again the finance off office and the procurement office reviews thousands and thousands of purchase orders every year it's very probable that one of those will get through again where we'd have that finding again but generally the expenditures the fundraising approval once we take that to the policy um the property control and inventory we should be able to eliminate those um in the future for sure thank you you bet are there any other questions okay then we will go ahead and adjourn uh the work study portion of our meeting tonight and move on to our brief board business meeting call this meeting to order and ask Miss Wilson to do a roll call Mr Chad Thompson here miss sha Murray here Dr Blake Robinson here miss Jill humph here Mr Jesse rard here Mr President Alor members are present you have a quorum thank you Miss Wilson uh moving on to agenda item number five our consent agenda item our our consent agenda is there a motion to approve the consent agenda as it is outlined on our agenda this evening so moved thank you Mr brard is there a second second thank you Miss Murray uh all those in favor of approving tonight's consent agenda as outlined on uh our agenda tonight do so by saying I I I any opposed and that passes 5 to zero thank you and moving on to our action items 6.01 uh fiscal year 2024 single audit reporting package uh is there a motion to uh to approve the fiscal year 2024 single audit reporting package excuse me president Thompson It's actually an acceptance versus an approval thank you very much is there a motion to accept the 2020 fiscal year 2024 single audit reporting package I move that we accept thank you Miss Humphries is there a second second thank you Dr Robinson is there any discussion regarding this uh agenda item that we haven't already discussed okay then we'll ask Miss Wilson to to uh perform a roll call vote Miss Jill humph how do you vote I Mr Chad Thompson how do you vote I Mr Jesse Brainard how do you vote I Dr Blake Robinson how do you vote I miss sha Murray how do you vote I Mr President all board members have accepted the thank you Miss Wilson moving on to 6.02 acceptance of the fiscal year 2024 uniform system of financial records compliance questionnaire is there a motion so moved thank you Miss humph is there a second second thank you Mr brard uh is there any discussion regarding this agenda item tonight okay thank you I'll again M ask Miss Wilson to uh to call for a roll call vote m hre i Mr Chad Thompson I Mr Jesse Brainard hi Dr Blake Robinson hi Miss Shaya Murray hi Mr President all board members have accepted thank you again Miss Wilson and that brings us to our final agenda item uh number seven adjournment is there a motion to adjourn so moved thank you Mr brard uh and I will second that and all those in favor of adjourning tonight's meeting say I I any opposed thank you very much

good evening everybody good evening everybody I would like to call this meeting to order it's loud perfect good evening Miss Richards may I have roll call please yes president Wade let the record show that all five board members are present this evening thank you please join me in a moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America the stand Nation indivisible andice goodness it works I motion to approve the agenda agenda that was Miss Van Hook who seconded all those in favor I I motion carries 5 Z Miss Richards you're up president Wade members of the board another segment of higgle Adventures we're excited so many of you have joined us this evening and tonight we want to start out by oops sorry go celebrating our national board certified teachers so if I call your name in a minute please come to the front of the room because we're going to take your picture so today we're proud to in introduce our board certified teachers this is the highest and most respected certification a teacher can obtain aimed at developing retaining and recog izing accomplished teachers the new board certified teachers are Cammy mclen from Higley High [Applause] School we also have Rachel leam from williamfield high school [Applause] and we also have teachers who have maintained the national certification Michelle bordado from Higley High School and Megan spitler from williamsfield high school congratulations to all of you we are so very proud to have you in Higley and this is not something easy to obtain so we're going to take your picture and we're going to get our board members down here on the floor e I'm excited to share that our K5 math instructional coach Wendy stove was named the Arizona math leader of the year for 2025 at the Arizona mathematics leaders annual conference she was nominated by chael's assistant principal Mr pepper this award is well earned and deserved congratulations Wendy thank you so much for everything you do for our teachers and of course our students so Wendy's out there [Applause] every year ASU holds a Language Fair on their main campus and invites 3,000 students from all over the valley to attend and participate in their language competitions Higley High School students participated again this year in French Spanish and Mandarin they amazed the ASU judges and won many awards some of the teachers that were able or are able to join us today our French teacher murel enman and Spanish [Applause] teachers and Spanish teachers Jennifer Moda and Kristen [Applause] Schnell and I got cut off from all the happy Applause thank you Kristen Snell [Applause] Wendy Jennifer Moda and French teacher Morel emman what an amazing group of Educators we have in this room tonight from languages to Math teachers to everyone so congratulations most importantly do you have students in the audience students will you come up and join your [Applause] teachers we want to include our mandrin students because I know Miss leatherby was not able to be here this evening wow I could pass the mic and we could guess what you're all saying but maybe I wouldn't do so well teachers would you like to say anything no students to have a student that wants to say something in your expert language hey Carson you're nominated that's what I [Music] heard thank you all everybody knows that man any french here we go [Applause] good beautiful job talented students of Hig Unified School District we applaud you so we want to take a picture squeeze it really squeeze in [Applause] here are French students our Mandarin students and I know Miss leather wanted to be here she was unable to join us but she's celebrating with us and next we recently held our annual spring business and Community partner breakfast this event is dedicated to building relationships with local businesses and Community leaders at this event leaders gathered to focus on fostering College and Career ready Scholars which is part of H usd's portrait of a graduate the event featured insightful presentations from Gateway Elementary's no excuses University program higgle high and williamsfield high school students showcased their skills through the Career and Technical education programs in both early childhood development and criminal justice they even took people's fingerprints at the event these presentations underscored the district's dedication to equipping students for their future and we'd like to thank public relations and marketing for all their hard work for this wonderful event and I believe they were responsible for this video as well today was dealing with College and Career uh for us williamsfield we were able to present our uh CTE Early Childhood in that representation for us they were able to kind of share their experiences over the last couple of years internships they got out of it and hopefully where they're going to go in the future I think it's important to get career Readiness in elementary school and so I think we should integrate something where we do um mock career day where we have the students go in and interview at local small businesses and they kind of compete and the students that get the most job offers win and all the vendors would cool money so that we could give them 1,000 $2,000 $3,000 sponsorship that they can then take into their future I think it's important for us as a district to make these connections with the community because there are things out there we don't even know and there are so many people in our community that willing to help how great is it to be able to partner and bring them on our campus or have our kids go see what else is out there prior to even going to college the next generation of students is who is going to be our employees at our small businesses so it's important for us to get connected with the children and with our school district so that we're an integral part of them of their upbringing [Applause] so thank you PR and marketing everything looks very professional right every time so next we want to move to points of Pride and I need the principal of kolie Middle School to come forward Mr Chad kentell [Applause] sure I got it already in order so we should be okay all right all right good evening everybody thanks for being here to celebrate the points of Pride for kolie Middle School uh super excited to highlight some of the wonderful people who are on our campus you know it's it's always great and it's always hard deciding these things because you have so many wonderful people but I'm super excited to celebrate who we have and I apologize I'm not a great at memorizing things so I'm going to be reading some notes as I go um but first up I'd like to welcome our volunteer point of Pride Sam [Applause] Sano absolutely so Sam is in his first year actually volunteering with kie middle school but he has already become um just a staple around the campus he's uh mostly supporting our English classes most days of the week he's there for several hours uh giving his time and so we just really appreciate Sam and I wanted to read something uh one of the teachers that he volunteers with wrote uh we are incredibly fortunate to have Sam a kind and dedicated volunteer who has support who has been supporting our teachers and students for several years with immense heart and commitment Sam is more than just a volunteer he's become a cherished friend as a retired veteran and former air traffic controller Sam brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to each classroom he goes beyond merely assisting students he takes the time to learn their names and understand their individual stories Sam offers valuable advice and unwavering support to both students and teachers his presence is truly a blessing and our students are exceptionally lucky to have him around thank you Sam for all you do for us and your [Applause] students all right uh next up I'd like to have our classified employee uh Mike schlummer come on up [Applause] uh known around campus lovingly as Mr Mike um spent his first two years at kolie middle school as a campus safety monitor last year approached our admin team and asked about moving into a classroom to become a prayer professional where he has been absolutely amazing the teachers who work with him uh love having him in the classroom but more importantly the students even just adore Mr Mike he is uh just always have a smile always a positive attitude every time he goes into class the relationships he builds with our students each and every day allows him to make such a difference in each classroom that he's in um he does amazing things tracking every day what each student he works with works on what they needed that day how he can support them the next day literally in a notebook every single day it's really amazing and so we are just so happy and so proud to have Mr Mike on campus and so glad that he uh decided to move from campus safety into the classroom so thank you Mike do you have anybody here that you'd like to introduce do you have people here you'd like to introduce oh my family yeah I have my wife Danielle back there uh my daughter Madison my daughter Kate and my little daughter Paige back there my son had to work otherwise he'd be here Stand Up Guys stand up stand up stand up there they are y thank you all right next up is our um certified employ employee Chase Connelly Mr Connelly is a seventh grade math as well as geometry and a product of williamfield high school um he's one of the most beloved teachers on our campus J he going um Mr connell's inexhaustible work ethic is one to strive for um it's instilled in his students and Carries over into other classrooms clubs and organizations throughout the kolie campus he has such a great effect uh he has worked tirelessly to develop himself as an educator at kie taking time to attend various professional developments seeking out feedback from colleagues coaches and mentors and being willing to step outside his comfort zone to experiment in new strategies Mr Connell is always willing to to take on a new chask and challenge when asked and this year he took on Geometry midy year and has done an amazing job the growth received from our students on our benchmarks is just incredible um it's truly special what he's done in such a short time with them um he takes a lot of pride in the relationships he's cult cultivated with his students and that's evident in his participation and attendance of school light events um in support of his students he's positive and his calm demeanor and desired to be the best he can be as infectious and we are absolutely lucky to call him a cougar than you Mr and last up is our student point of Pride areli basos relli um was selected she's an eighth grade student at kie uh she was here for seventh grade as well and she has stood out even as a seventh grader and so we are so lucky to have her on our campus she embodies exactly what you want to see in student leaders um and students across your campus who are just demonstrate amazing qualities um I want to kind of highlight some of the things that are said her teachers love her positivity her initiative taking and her outgoingness as well as her hard work these things are truly what make RSL special um no matter what's happening around her her positivity shines like no other students um whether it's just a kind word or a smile to another student or a teacher RSL is always ready to brighten some someone's day whenever anything needs to be done RSL is the first to step up and make it happen with her peers and staff um she's the first to include everybody else in what's going on as well uh she has a tremendous sense of humor and when work needs to get done RSL is there to take the lead or support whatever needs to H make things happen and get things done we are extremely proud of all our vuer students but our Asel truly shines as a special student on campus so congratulations do you have people you want to highlight uh I want to thank everyone for coming especially my family uh my mom my dad my stepmom my stepdad my grandma uh my aunt my uncle my friend Kessa uh All My Siblings Lorenzo Carmela Riley Liam Milani and Esme um and all my teachers who came to support me miss alua miss a and Miss do thank you [Applause] over next we want to highlight williamsfield high school so williamsfield Administration please come forward Mr Dolan [Applause] everybody just take members of the board uh cabinet thank you guys for inviting us up here we're excited to kind of talk to you guys about the people from williamsfield um we this particular school year really try to push our core values uh mental toughness Integrity dedication and selflessness um uh what we one of our things that we give to our staff and we're going to give to everyone here tonight is uh it's a it's a kind of a challenge coin so anyone who here is in the military I can just tell you about uh 10 years ago went on an educational trip with the military and uh got a chance to sit with a gentleman he kind of explained to me what the purpose of the coin was and why he provides coins for people and it for him it was more about what people do and how they stand out and so um I've kind of kept up that when I was at sasman and again here because I think it's a real powerful thing so um that's something that we're going to give to the people today so the first person I want to talk about is our volunteer Mrs Allison mccaa can you come up [Applause] here who's here with you my husband Richard my daughter Hannah who is the class of 22 from Higley and my son Kyle who is a current Junior at williamsfield who hit me in the face with a pie today um at Williamsville we don't have a PTO uh there are programs that have boosters but we are blessed with parents like Allison uh she supports our football program but uh our school overall uh she has brought treats to our front office she comes with me to business partner breakfasts and even contacts me when people maybe on campus who don't belong on the weekend uh she is just so valuable to us so nice to us and we appreciate you very very [Applause] much I don't believe the certified person is here but um maybe that makes sense because he's we pulled him for the the word dedication um it's Randall Clifford he's our baseball coach so I want to kind of talk a little bit about him um he kind of displays our core values of selflessness and dedication uh on a daily basis he works with younger staff members to Mentor on how to be a good role model and educator in addition he's willing on a moment's notice to support our athletic programs as a ticket taker an announcer or security for years he was willing to teach marketing and PE because it was best for our campus um he'll cover a class he'll work with a teacher he plays games with his students and then he'll go water and take uh take care of his field prior to coaching and all the events so we are really really happy to have him and we appreciate all that he does for our campus our classified member is Gloria Oiler why don't you come up here so I asked her I was just talking to her and I said like how long do we know each other and so she has been in the district since 2012 and I've been in the district since 2013 14 and so first time I was at willfield and now back this time and her grandson Derrick was at uh s when I was over there too so a good long time so I'm glad I get to do this for you today um Gloria has been a main on this campus you can find her in science classroom supporting students as well as our selfcontained classrooms doing the same she has binders of notes worksheets and supporting documents for classroom work I think our teachers would would agree with me that they love having her in class because of the time and effort she puts in with her kids she's prepared friendly and gives 100% to our students every day dedication is the term that comes from I want to thinkk of Gloria so Gloria thank you so much for everything you [Applause] do and last is our student oh Gloria who's here with you oh I'm sorry my husband Roger my daughter Don and my grandson Zaden and Xander student Nolan Zavala come on down so I don't forget who do you have with you I have my wonderful parents Natali and Eric so just the other day we had the superintendent walking around and I wanted to pick students to do that and we sat in a meeting meting and uh as a staff were talking about people and Miss Larenz goes we got to have Nolan do that and not only that you know obviously be the student here but for some of the reasons you know he's kind he's caring he's knowledgeable and he just epitomizes our students at williamsfield that we're looking for so Nolan 11th grade student who works in our sports medicine program he's everywhere supporting our classmates he has been seen at games as a trainer he's part of our cheering section in the Big Red Rage and he'll also say hello whenever you see him he works hard in the classroom and certainly shares our core values daily I know he's injured right now so he's not going to be playing baseball but I know I was at a a weekend tournament and he was there so you know the the fact that he's not playing but he's still there supporting is is just uh says a lot about his character so thank you Nolan what who the kids uh yes appreciate it you [Applause] know congratulations [Music] perfect Tommy let see for those who are still here um because we have a new process we are going to say for today this is the last call for uh request to speak forms since we this is our first meeting of doing it in a new fashion figured this this would be the best time to uh do that President Lade you ready upcoming events everybody knows what happens next week it's called spring break so every teacher and every student is excited for that time Mar March 10th through the 21st we also have more than sad parent event it's virtual on Tuesday March 25th at 6: p.m.

[Music] hello everyone and Welcome to our proed team Rockstar for the first quarter of 2025 today we're at Glennwood Park Elementary School on the north side of town and we're meeting a very big team here but a very important team this is the lunch crew is that right Sarah yes and they prepare the lunches and the breakfasts for all of our students that come in uh to this school Jason uh you were one of the teams that one of the people that nominated this great team tell us a little bit about how they all come together and how it all works we just have that system and I mean and this all stemmed from Sarah's superviser doing her eval and in the evaluation told her you know you have such an awesome group of people out there working with you to the point where I don't have to come here that often cuz I know you guys are running well yeah you know and that's why I decided to put out the nomination for the team these guys the phenomenal thing about these guys is they once lunch is done they've got everything up cleaned and up and out of here like in like 10 minutes and it's they do and that's not me that's them like they do it and they work they work their tails off to get everything out because right afterwards we have a class coming in I think my favorite part is if you think about it like kindergarteners especially ones that hav g to pres school like they're having to learn learn how to navigate through a one for the first time so you see that progression from August to now and how they're so little but they're able to just do it on their own they drop their food every yeah the independence what they gain from just being able to like do it on their own is exciting Jason was talking but he hit on the point about connecting with students using this time to really connect with them emotionally and things like that can any of you share a time that maybe recently that you really connected with student you you could tell they needed that help there's kids who are sad and deal with grief and I've dealt with grief lately and I think there's been a couple year or a couple kids who have been like hey my grandma passed away yesterday or and they need us yeah or positive things in their life of hey I turned six today or I lost a tooth and that makes me want to pass out a little bit we're there for all those moments whether it's the devastating ones or whether it's the beautiful ones and in here when we have 10 15 minutes when we can talk yeah those are the moments where they grab us and they tell us us again the most random thing possible and it can be hey I got a horse for Christmas somebody told me today I was like dude it's like February so it was like during quiet time so I was like girl but then you know during that loud time they have a moment where I'm not working with kids constantly and they might say something random but they need us in that moment and they're not doing homework and they have all these adults walking around feeding them food taking care of them I came from another school and I did do the lunches so then I came here and I saw the system that they had like they had yeah and I was amazed by it yeah like that's pretty cool yep and that's why they're team Rockstar you walk in there and just spit right in and then keep you going and I think everyone of us is equal super important like if I see one of us is absent and I'm like oh no yeah it's not like one is more important than the other right it's like no we're missing that really key important but that's the thing is we all are important to it but I know that like I have to miss days and when I do miss days he steps up and she steps up and we all step up because again we're a team yeah yeah and it was cool when we first came here Jason's talking about what you guys do to really uh prepare these students and the food everybody's hungry every single day get these kids the nutrition they need help them with those straws to get them in the juice packs I saw that and it's not easy so we're so thankful for each one of you and what you do here each day uh Karen from proed Karen what do you have for the team we have a gift card for you to use for your team okay want to thank you guys this is awesome this is great that you guys we love doing the team it's neat how you guys do so much for the kids and that's a lot yeah that's a lot it is you guys had a lot to say for answer question [Music] good evening everyone Welcome to our March edition of live with the superintendent with uh Dr Daniel good evening Dr Daniel how are you tonight good evening good evening doing well thank you good so tonight we will have with us Elementary director John Key and secondary director Cara Froning uh and there they are hi guys hello hi and of course behind the scenes we have our digital content coordinator Steve Armstrong so thank you Steve for keeping us in line so um I guess we will just jump right in um it's been an eventful two days already this week um Dr Daniel do you want to start off with uh what our press conference was about yesterday and what we're helping parents and maybe others in the community can do absolutely so before I even get started I want to thank all the people that were part of the press conference I think we had over 40 people there and 40 people meaning we had our community leaders we had our CEO of Champions we had our representatives for our teachers from the Education Association to ISTA we had some government Representatives trustees council member um but we also had PTA and many PTA parents were there and even our representative of our president of PTA from Indianapolis uh visited us with us as well and you know it just again I I cannot tell you how important it is for us to come together and show this this Alliance um but I did want to share something that I had sent to numerous of our legislators last week and it is about again our what we're seeing in regards to our state budget and how it'll impact Fort Wayne Community Schools and so I'm just going to I know this letter is available on the website and we're going to get to that a little bit later but I would like to read this to you because it does emphasize again what is being discussed in Indianapolis and the impact it would have on Fort Wayne Community School so let me start here I'll just read it I wrote it dear legislators I'm writing to express my strong concerns regarding Senate bill one and Senate Bill 518 both of which are currently assigned to the house committee on Ways and Means which by the way there will be a meeting tomorrow at house Ways and Means uh to discuss moving forward these bills um there will be people representing public education down to have some testifying I'll be following that up on Thursday meeting with some key legislators um specifically about what's been coming out of the house ways and means committee meeting so anyway so while these bills may have well-intended goals they ultimately create a counterproductive situation that further strains essential Community Services while placing additional burden on property taxpayers Senate bill one aims to provide property tax relief yet it does so at the expense of vital funding for public services including schools if enacted Senate bill one would result in an ongoing loss in 2026 of $1.8 million then in 2027 an additional $4 million and then in 20 28 $6.6 million that's a total of $ 122.5 million for funding that is essential for meeting the needs and expectations of our families again that is just Fort Wayne Community Schools and this will impact many many districts across the state so it's just not Fort Wayne Community Schools this proposal comes at a time when operational costs for schools have surged with a high circuit breaker fort way Community Schools already allocates 114% of our operations fund to just three non-discretionary costs property and casual insurance transportation and utilities since 2020 Fort Wayne Community Schools has seen Property and Casualty Insurance costs Rise by 23% Transportation by 25% and utilities by 21% so therefore we reducing local Revenue through property tax cuts only exasperates these Financial pressures making increasingly difficult to maintain quality education and essential services to make matters even more is uncertain for our students and families fwcs sees only a 1.07% increase in tuition support from the state over the next two years under the house proposed budget so timeout let me just explain this a little bit so you'll hear in the media that there's a 2% increase per year in regards to support of Education in reality for us it's 1.0% increase over the next two years and we all know what the cost of living is we all know that everyone's increasing are having increase in cost so therefore it'll be very difficult for us to cover our current costs matter of fact I'll give you an example in our budget we have $23 million budgeted for special services I.E special education needs and services to our students and families last year alone that 23 million was not enough we had to add an additional six million so was up to $29 million where do we find the $6 million additional we take out the education fund and again this fund is not keeping up with the pace and they're actually decreasing the complexity funding formula part of the funding formula that factor they're decreasing that well we don't see our needs decreasing we see our needs increasing and so let me give you some examples for instance early learning language or um English learning language student these are students who are new to our community that may or may not have yet mastered the English language as you can imagine those students require special one-on-one interactions certainly small groups but when you have over 4500 of those students which we do that is a very costly service and those are actually being reduced that gives you an example so I'll go on with my letter at the same time Senate Bill 58 directly contradicts the intent of Senate bill one by shifting additional Financial burdens onto taxpayers so and I'm saying property taxpayers under current law Charter Schools receive funding through a dedicated line item in the state budget however Senate Bill 518 proposed is transferring that cost to local property taxpayers at a time when lawmakers are prioritizing property tax relief this would shift or this would shift or add an additional $2 million from Fort Wayne Community Schools to Charter Schools so if Charter Schools require additional funding it is our opinion the state should continue to be responsible for funding that that cost rather than increase in the financial strain on local taxpayers so therefore I said I respectfully urge you to propose Senate bill one and Senate Bill 518 in their current forms a more balanced approach is needed one that ensures tax relief efforts do not come at the expense of critical public services and that school F funding remains a shared State responsibility rather than an increased local burden so it is our goal to keep Cuts away from our classroom rooms and remember the education fund which is slated to receive a 1.07% increase will not keep Pace with cost of living this is how we pay for teachers and school building staff and in regards to our operation fund this will impact Transportation those Services outside of school buildings including Personnel the impact of the operational fund the impact on the operation fund will result in significant cuts and again we've been very firm in our intent or in a discussion we want these expenses to be the ones that will have to cut to meet these types of budget constraints we're trying to keep those as far away from students as possible I.E we need more El teachers we need more services to our special needs students not less so therefore this is something some thing that as we speak to our legislators and I do urge our parents to contact legislators and we're going to show you how to do that in just a second but you need to personalize it you need to make it a statement where it is coming from you as a parent not as a not from a superintendent they they hear this all the time from superintendent but I would like to sit down with them and say hey I totally understand property taxes skyrocketed because of the cost not actually because of our um our value of our homes increased rapidly well okay and I love to give you the example of hey my taxes were say they're at $1100 I'll just use a nice round number $100 now they've increased to 125 that's a significant increase I totally understand that and I'm asking well then let's not raise it to 125 let's raise it to say let's reduce that then back down to a number closer to that original 100 but any any additional funding in a district like Fort way Community Schools is highly needed and if I have to start sharing dollars with Charter Schools those same property tax dollars with Charter Schools that may not even reside in our district but yourx tax paying property tax paying dollars are going to them I think that needs to be that needs to be stated do you want that to happen do you think that's something that is good for your daughters your sons your neighbors your school district and I'm overwhelmingly convinced that is not good but we'll work with we'll work with our legislators we'll work with the governor trying to find what is that where's that happy place a medium if you will or median where we can go to yes we need some additional dollars but perhaps the increase in property tax dollars because of the value of homes increasing at such a rate we can go back down closer to where we were but surely we can't have Cuts in regards to reductions of where we were I'll tell you this and I didn't say this on the U during the press conference but if I look at all of our dollars that we're expecting to receive through property taxes we are actually anticipating $40 million less you don't make that up I mean you can't make that up in just cuts and my big question to our legislators has been if I can survive for three years and use our balances with which has been the big I just heard this from our governor we'll utilize those balances but what happens once those balances are gone what happens and what happens if I have an emergency such as a boiler goes out or a chiller goes out and now you're in a multi-million dollar repair process in that building how how are you going to manage that so what is that happy medium if you will in regards to what is a balance what is a healthy balance what is a essential balance and we're very much interested in having that discussion at this point in time so again Christa you may want to lead them then to maybe where we can get this information again I think is that where it is is that the link to our website okay yes that link will take you to the list of local legislators um it has their email addresses phone number mailing address um they're not their personal email addresses but they do get your message to their office and that's also in the chat below so if you um just want to click in the chat you can find it that way as well excellent and is there a ideal timeline that they would send messages to legislators I'm sorry I'm reading a text it was from shenita I'm thinking okay she need him must be on this and something going on so what was the question um so ideal timeline for sending messages to legislators there is a hearing tomorrow but we don't expect them to vote tomorrow is that right I I do not expect to vote tomorrow so we are hearing possibly a vote for next week so again this is what I'm hearing is this is this is something that wants to be moved through the legislators in a rather rapid fashion and I think you've read some things I've read some things where they do not want to come back for emergency session they do not want to do that so they're very eager to get this completed so I would say time is of essence I mean we need to we need to make these connections ASAP preferably I mean even if you could do it tonight while it's hot in your mind do it tonight and send them I sent I think probably um I used the same line the same message and I linked all I think I probably had 30 different legislators that I sent this to everyone that was on the house Ways and Means as well as other key Senators so I just sent one and I received answers from many thank you very very you know basically a a response to the a general response thank you for your message we were looking but they do keep track of these they do tick these off they do say hey 14 one nay one yay one nay so I think it is important for us to to do that um as quickly as possible if you can't do it tonight then do it in the next couple of days um because they will be discussing this it will be coming to a discussion on the house floor and then again the house and the Senate they'll come together and decide okay how do we create a budget for that will go to the governor and then the governor will have decide does he approve this or does he be and again the message has to be that we're on record that this is not good for public schools this is not good for schools this is not good for your local um your local services so that could be including you know you think of all the entities that survive off property taxes and again we're not saying that we have have to have this level but we are saying that the needs do exist and what is the longterm plan that's my big question what is the long-term plan okay thank you Christa so also on that website there with the local information um there is a button if you don't know who your legislator legislators are you can find out there you can send an email email to all of them or to any of them um but if you want to specifically send it to your representative and Senator um you can find it on there and then you can let them know that you are a taxpayer in your in their district and sometimes they pay attention to that a little bit more than if they just get a a general message yeah um so there's a a question about what exactly are we supposed to say in the email I would recommend um if you take a look at Dr Daniel's message you can see in there some specific dollar amounts that it that fwcs would be affected to those amounts um always be polite in your messages and as Dr Daniel said you know we are trying to come to a solution together um we do not expect that they won't do anything with property taxes they are going to do something um but we are just asking them to be aware of the impact that they're having anything else you would add Dr Daniel I think that's your spot on couldn't say it any clear thank you all right well if anybody else has questions about that throughout the evening and you want to post in the chat um we are monitoring that all right um so next topic we will bring carara in to talk about what is new in our middle and high schools hi good evening um just to share a little bit about what we have going on in our Freshman School sorry my camera is moving on me um sorry it is not and there's a lag on my end so it's like move yeah left and right are tricky well and it was lagging um so our Freshman School of success as most people are aware we um began our implementation of our schools of success this year in all of our high schools with our freshman teams so we have been meeting um with our freshman teams throughout the year and with our freshman administrators but if parents aren't totally aware of what is going on behind the scenes we are um our teachers are meeting weekly in teacher teams to plan Implement and also just work really closely in identifying students to celebrate or students who might need extra support in these teacher teams we had some exciting news today at Southside High School um our Southside team a team Blast from our house of Team blast they are in the final four of the national competition for our 3de case challenge with arbes yesterday we had two teams um they were announced as winners or in the final 10 I should say qualifiers we had a team from Northrup and then the same team from Southside who were in the final qualifiers yesterday so huge celebrations for our students as they um participate in our schools of success powered by 3de um we've had success in this Arby's competition before and once again we hope to bring home a win this year with Team Blast from Southside um we are also in implementation of or beginning implementation in our middle schools um with some teaming moving down to e8th grade and if you have an incoming sixth grader into one of our middle schools we have some scheduled orientation nights that I think we will um display right here um at many of our most all of our middle schools in the month of April where you can visit for an openhouse kind of forum with your students but also there will be um a meeting for parents to understand a little bit more about what middle school is now and it's very different um probably from when all of us um were in school we are at the stage now where by the time our sixth graders get to eighth grade they will all students will earn two high school credits that follow to high school preparing for colleges careers and pe1 those both align with the new diploma requirements also so students will get um a step ahead head as they enter high school so we're going to start those conversations in sixth grade so that you're fully aware of what opportunities are available for students in sixth seventh and eighth grade in Middle School that will further them in their path in our Fort Wayne Community Schools schools of success so lots of exciting things happening in high schools and middle schools today we had sat in all of our high schools great um attendants today thank you to Our Community Partners through ja who uh created remote learning opport unities for students who were at home in the n9th 10th and 12th grade so we have appreciated that partnership each year and um our SAT day is complete excellent Dr Daniel you spend some time in our schools from time to time what what are you excited about with our middle schools and high schools right now well again what what was just explained you're seeing teing coming to to together and you know we have had examples of that we've had that at new tech and we see what's happening in new tech when they have their teaming um you see it at amp lab but now we're seeing in our middle school and our high schools and we're just at the very beginning of this process but I will say when you start to see a cohort of teachers focusing on how do they make if they're working on say the case challenge or they're working on later as we saw in Hampton in h Norfolk Virginia where you start to see where whole cohorts as we've called them schools of success when those teachers Truly Come Together it is magical when you can start to see them okay we're on the same page we're understanding where here here's here's student a here's student B they start troubleshooting but they're truly a team and I think that is a very positive thing for our students and our parents when you have that consistency and yes freshmen have their own schools of success Freshman Academy but now we're ready to move into next year the 10th graders 11th grade and 12th graders the amount of professional learning that's been that's been taking place has been rather phenomenal and as I saw last year when we had a when we had a teacher in service day or where we had students with our teachers leading that inservice and the enthusiasm that current teachers had that had been implementing and the students leading that discussion I mean it was it was phenomenal it was it was a wonderful wonderful professional learning day and the enthusiasm as it was starting to spread to the other buildings so that's what I'm feeling right now that's what I'm seeing i' also say things such as you know as we look at our referendum that we've had for safer schools and seeing that implementation over the course of of this of this year um um I was just talking to a teacher this afternoon from Southside high school and how those students are very very in tune to we want positive constructive interactions we do not want students that are negatively interacting and you know for them to have a 100 and plus days of zero incidence they are very very proud of that and when there is a setback now you have students saying hey that is not what we do here at ssite this is not what we want this is not reflective of us so that's been pretty I mean that's been amazing to hear and to see so again going back to Senate bill one and Sen Bill 518 part of that Bill is saying we're going to share our referendums in the future okay I mean folks this is something that I don't know if we as a public understand the depth of this uh these proposals and how it's going to impact us as a public school system um we'll continue to fight the fight we'll continue to do what we need to do to raise our level of programming to have best programs for kids to have best experiences and I'll finish with this it is also amazing to see all high schools all freshman fully engaged in the Freshman schools of success with these case challenges and seeing our corporations and business people and other organizations coming in and working side by side with our kids and our teachers and how enthusiastic they have become and then seen like Cara was saying hearing that southside's one of the top four in this National Challenge and last year we had Northside who won it prior to that we had both Snider and Northside in the top four top well top 10 and and Snyder being a runner up so I mean it's been it's been very I'll just say invigorating to see what's been happening in this space and I know if I even go back down to the elementary level and I'm seeing what's happening with the volunteers coming into our elementary and I'm sure John's going to speak somewhat of this but it is amazing to see what's happening when we start having Volunteers in our buildings and how they're interacting with our students and how our students are very receptive and I think they're very appreciative because they are seeing that yes adults are here not just teachers not just principles but they're also Al Community people their volunteers coming in working side by side with teachers to help improve the academic success of our kids or to connect them to the real world and to connect them with various networks um IE businesses and I see that you know exploding at amplab we we always have had it with new tech and but in you know amp laabs on steroids in regards to this phenomenon so again seeing what's happening in this space we're not going to be perfect uh they going to be Implement imp implementation challenges we all know that um we'll need to come back and revise and and state okay we need to do this better fine that's wonderful but we're on a course of action and I think we're GNA continue to see things things symetric such as improved reading and improve literacy improve number of students on track to graduate in other words credits on track with credits and this whole evolution of Pathways that yes we have a new diploma and we as Fort Wayne Community Schools I've been asked will you host a work-based learning for the state and I'm like absolutely we have much we would like to share with other with other districts and and other leaders across the state we are we are so uh I'll just say I think we are very Advanced um because of all the work that's been done the prior two to three years to prepare us to be at this point and it's going to continue so again that's why we need more support from the state not less support and reward districts that are doing what you've asked us to do and doing it at a level of exception exceptional level um so there you go Christa sorry get me going but there we go of course that's great um you know to just to add to that I was at Lakeside Middle School um last week and a couple weeks before that and what I'm seeing there is so exciting uh they actually have a business class uh sort of marketing business uh class and they are learning how to do things like make stickers and so they've partnered with our technology department and they're going to make the stickers for our summer technology conference which is called ignited and so we're already seeing at the middle school level kids learning these fundamentals and these ideals um that will help them you know someday in a career they're also Lakeside is starting to partner with several nonprofits in the community so that students can understand what a nonprofit is how these entities help people in the community and that there are jobs at these uh types of places too so not just um you know not just corporations or you know the things that they may see in their daily life but there are things in the community that they could do to help others so I just I think the the middle schools people are going to see some really great things from our middle schools here in the next few years yeah and I I agree with you um and I think as you see kids more engaged and more intentional on what they're doing it's sort of uh they do mature um and behavior tends to improve because they are understanding they are knowing and yet they're still teenagers so they're still going to be teenagers and that also reminds me of what's been happening in the whole space with the Pearl Arts I mean I think there are probably over 200 of our students that are engaged at the Pearl Arts in regards to um musical lessons and that's all based on affordability and um Mr sarak has made that available to our students and I'm just thinking what other school district dist has these opportunities and that are truly moving the kids to these experiences and that's the difference I mean it's one thing to have an opportunity it's one thing to actually make it happen and I'm so pleased to see this this this this expansion um and even Steve Armstrong you talk to his with his team because he has a group of students they're the ones who help with our videos and so forth and you saw that with the uh at the very beginning just think though these kids are actually involved in helping incorporations like ash that wow what kind of experiences are our kids having that quite frankly no other student is having if they're not part of Fort Wayne Community Schools and it all starts way back in prek and we've been working on that space and I can't wait to hear John talk a little bit about what he's going to talk about because this is unique folks and we need to be celebrating these things and at least letting others know hey here are the opportunities here's what's happened in four wi Community Schools and by golly there's no place else you're going to get these kind type of experiences so and all starts prek so I'm ready to shift now Kristal over to John all right Steve let's bring John in there he is so John what do we have going on with prek um well first I just want Dr Daniel to look back let let's see it's reverse back here that Kurt cetti uh Indiana football uh poster back there because we are now a football school so I just want to put that on record we're now football so they do play tonight though this is it tonight they are playing tonight that that is true that's true uh so yeah so we have uh actually have quite a few things going on I want to start with our we have our um you know if you've been driving around town you should have noticed um some Billboards um we have some new Billboards up for our uh passport to prek um that's coming up on August or April 9th um from 5: to 7 um it's really exciting night um it's hosted at North side it's actually pretty funny um you pull up to it it has very much a carnival feel uh minus the bounce house so it's a onstop shop uh for parents to come in get their students signed up for prek um you and and and Kristen I'm not sure if they're getting the flyer through parents Square um how we're getting that flyer out because there are some changes this year that I do want to mention so on the right hand side of that flyer um you know it's high it says highlights and it shares there's probably five things um that's different from the past that we want parents to bring um and come prepared with um because one of the things we want to do this year in addition to getting registered for prek we want to make sure um that parents also sign up for for on my way prek um so that could help um get us some additional dollars to help with funding um but they are very uh specific about items they need for example um they need uh copies of all IDs for all adults in the household um they need birth certificates for all students in the household so some very specific items um that parents we want to make parents aware of um for them to bring so we can get them signed up for my we prek why we have them um there at North Side so I me again and that'll address you know we have opportunities for all of our students um in our in our attendance areas um to access our uh our prek our our top-notch prek program so we're really excited about that so that's the first thing we have coming here soon yeah so one thing well I'll say a couple things about prek first of all that cute little girl that you see on your screen there the little cartoon character that is prek Katie and she is our friend who teaches us all about what prek is like and if you go to our YouTube channel uh you can see several videos of prek Ky she also might pop up if you are uh if you have a child who watches uh cartoons on YouTube um she might pop up every once in a while because we are uh running some ads with her on YouTube so you can always go to our Channel though and watch all of her videos um and that is thanks to again Steve Armstrong and his interns uh they've been working on that and then the other thing um because the on my way prek portion is a little bit newer in terms of us wanting all of our families to apply for that um families who create their on my way account before they come to the event on April 9th we will have a special prize for them so when you come in and you you come through and and check in um if you already have that account set up then we will have something special for you um that application does not open until April 1st so we'll be posting some reminders about that but just if you do plan on coming uh watch out for that and that way you can have one thing done before you even walk in the door so John you may be mentioning this as well so we also have before school and after School programming with either the y or with Kinder Care which is um something that we're trying to provide in all of our schools so they've worked hard to come together to manage this uh again they also need this parent information to make it a very to quickly we want to get in the front of the line in regards to on my way prek f folks I'm just going to be very blunt we want to be on the front of the line to get those applications in so they can get down to Indianapolis and we can get approved because as John said that is a huge funding source which right now we're spending quite a bit of our dollars from title funding as well as the education fund to support those if we again are having these Cuts we need to find other revenue streams and on my way prek is one of those and we started it this year uh more intentional this year we've had it in the past but very intentional this year to start to see an increase in those applications so again providing funding for our prek programming that's how that's the only way we're going to be able to expand our prek and I think John we have like a th20 of our kids in prek but boy I know we have another thousand that could potentially utilize it because we do have some threee olds we get no funding for threey olds so there's no funding at three-y olds for at Bunch but we do get some on my way prek funding if we can get it and if we can't get it for on my way prek then we have to use other sources so it's a huge shot in the arm for us and I just want to I want to emphasize ize that that is a way to help us and we've been very we've been very specific with our with our legislators please do not cut on my way prek and they said they're going to hold that study and which we're very grateful and very appreciative of that but we need to get a major major portion of our eligible parents involved it will make it'll make a huge difference sorry John but I know you in that was my cue for on my way prek because you said PR you know you're in the passport to prek So yeah thank you for you're absolutely right no I agree and I appreciate you also bringing up the point uh We've expanded whyare and our Kinder Care so we have before and after uh school care and many of our buildings um we continue to expand that so that's also an opportunity for parents you know our working parents um who who need that additional you know don't have someone at home someone at home for uh to stay with students um so other opportunities so you know we try to create this kind of well-rounded support system if you will uh for our students um additionally we have so we have some changes coming um Arlington Elementary if you've driven down St Joe Center Road um in the last month you would have noted noticed on their signo front that they had a open house U uh on the 30th of January for uh stem introduction so um you know we've we've had some conversations about programming in the district um what opportunities do we have where might they be held and so ultimately landed on um looking into Project Lead the Way which we've worked with in the past um in our high schools uh and middle schools uh uh and wanted to explore their stem stem program and so uh Arlington Elementary will be um transitioning to a stem Focus school here for the fall of 2526 um but we did have an open house we wanted to get parents in an introduction to what stem could look like give uh students and parents an opportunity to kind of explore some um some activities if you will uh about what students will be able to do in the future um with the stem activities we're really focusing on P um Hands-On problem-based Solutions and and um exploration um that really feeds again um as Dr Daniel mentioned earlier um really feeds into our school's success um and our pathway so um early introduction into that and also um through recent Renovations with Arlington we realized that I don't know we probably utilize about 60% of the classroom space here so there is a um we have a lot of room a lot of seats um to expand um our enrollment here so um and then and then again just in this in this area in their attendance area um you know we have Stu we have families that are looking at different opportunities in terms of education for their children but uh we quite but honestly we really want them to take a look at Arlington there's um great teachers here I think what they're going to do with stem is super exciting um and so you know we have opportunities for some open houses uh some um visits if people want to set up a tour um to come in um and walk the Halls meet the administrators so we are we have started to make some administrative and some staff changes already um we'll have new administrators uh new principal and assistant principal um after spring break because we really want to get the ball rolling with programming for stem so Dr Derek linger and Dr Caroline Rosado will come over Caroline's already started Dr D uh Dr ler from Glennwood Park will be here after um spring break and then Mr Kirby who was currently here he'll be transitioning over to Glennwood so um and so from there they're just going to work on programming um working with project Le way and then our curriculum Department to start working on those modules us so we can get up and running so that's just really exciting um um giving students an opportunity to think differently and learn differently which again leads into our our schools of success uh and our model that we just really want to make students um College and Career ready um no matter what they do we want to make sure they're prepared so that's super exciting for Arlington and then so we have our summer um summer programs so we'll start we have our reading Camp um and that will happen over the first two weeks of Summer um and that will be for our second and third grade students um and this is directly related to our I assessment uh which actually that window just opened yesterday so if you don't know we have our I three literacy assessment so um there's an expectation that all students um by third grade are reading at grade level so that is what this test measures um recent changes in legislation um kind of push that down to second graders so starting last year or last two years we had an opportunity for second graders uh to take it as well um if they pass it at second grade they're done um if not they'll continue to get remediation um literacy support and instruction and they'll take it again in third grade and so um so we just started that this week um and so if at the end of this first administration of the assessment which will be over the next two weeks we have students who uh do not pass it um with a score of 446 then they'll have an opportunity for additional uh intervention remediation at school we have schools who've been utilizing after school tutoring um small group instruction you name it um we've been providing it we really it's important it's a it's one of our primary goals is literacy and for students to be reading at grade level and we we know the long-term effects um for students who are not reading at grade level um and the additional challenges that that end up um end up happening that they have to endure and experience um as they continue to struggle so that'll be O So then we'll move to that sum program for those students and it will be available at every Elementary School except bunch and young because they don't have their Early Childhood Center so they don't have third second or third grade um and U there could be a couple of adjustments we're still waiting to clarify with maintenance operations to see if they have huge projects um that we might have to shift some students but right now it's looking like we can offer it at every site um so again opportunities to remediate um really focus on literacy uh you know and I know schools have been talking to parents about implications um you know and this one does have some pretty big implications if students by the end of the summer assessment unless they're special you know they have an IEP or an ILP because they're English language learner there are some um you know some some possible retention um aspects that could fall into place for a third grader so second grader if you don't pass it you have another opportunity for third but a third grader without exceptions you could potentially be retained in third grade for the following school year for the 25 26 so um so we've been having these conversations with parents schools have been sharing and again we've been doing a lot of work just to make sure students are prepared and reading at grade level um and so again we know that's significant and that's a significant data point um so let's see what else we have so okay we also have our Camp invention um I call it camp Camp Discovery it's not Camp Discovery anymore um Camp invention so that's for our students who are tag High ability um and as you can see that runs in June we have three weeks of it um of the program the first two weeks is at St Joe Central um one week at a time different groups of students there and um it's essentially a full day and that's funded through our literacy Grant or I'm sorry through our ear um High ability Grant and so um great opportunity for students to do really creative um projects again projects uh Hands-On challenges their thinking and allows students the opportunity to just kind of think outside the box and do some work uh and and some fun learning in a non-traditional way um that'll be hosted at St Joe Central and Weiser Park so again that's for students who are already tagged um High ability and then we have um our extended school year program um esy and that's for our students who um through case conference decision um based on their IEPs um it's determined that um that's a good opportunity for them to um so they may perhaps don't experience the same amount of Summer loss um and allows them to continue to work on their goals that they've been working on for the school year so again that's a case conference decision um between the committee the parents um the teacher teacher of record so um so those are the days that's the location and so parents should be getting more information around that as we're heading into our spring our annual case conferences um which I believe have already started actually um so more information for parents um regarding that and then lastly we have our kindergarten kindergarten countdown um and so we have that at several locations and that's in um first week of July through the end of July and that really gives us gives us an opportunity for students who may not have had a prek experience um to just get a jump start um for you know how do you do school essentially you know how do you you know what does a school day look like um because we do have students you know automatically they start school they don't have those experiences and they it takes them some time to figure out hey what's what's this whole school thing about what you mean stand in a line you mean we have restroom breaks a certain time we have to have protocols for snacks and restroom and you mean I have to sit for a certain period of time for learning so you know all of these things that are critical and building block skills that we want them uh we want students to experience before we start so again that's at um those identified schools um and uh it's just a really good opportunity a fun opportunity for students to just get that jump start I know one of the things um and if they're in their they're in their current school and they happen to have one of those kindergarten teachers um to start the school year they end up being leaders immediately from day one because they understand those expectations for kindergarten how to do school and so they can help their classmates um who may not have had those experiences in the past so um just a great opportunity for us and um yeah yeah we're ready to go so as you can see we've done a lot of work to get ready for the summer already so and it's what is today March what so U so we have some time yeah exactly so to um fine-tune those and I imagine you know there may be a few other things uh as the spring progresses great yeah that's a lot going on stuff um and I do want I do will say as Dr Daniel talked about those School the school Success and the one of the things that um you know high school and middle school have been working on this a while Elementary we've tried to we've been trying to figure out like what does this look like for us um you know for our Young Learners who may not fully understand you know some of this some of these Concepts might be above them so we've started to talk about guaranteed experiences is what we've decided to lean into and so essentially we we started with looking at you know what are some historical field trips um that we've done at the elementary level and then how do we tie that uh into schools of success and so you know for example third for example third graders um they go to you know our safety Village survive alive um and learn about fire safety and so you know what so what are as we started to talk about that you know students have an opportunity to learn about um firefighters um First Responders um you know so then and from there they can kind of take that learning back to the school what you know it's related to human human health services and can we bring a firefighter into the school what does that look like what's required of them what is you know what kind of schooling what kind of training do they need what is the equipment they use um and so we've started to take a look at that so we've identified guaranteed experiences for each for K through five um and and prek does a lot of Hands-On and learning about our society and our community already um but we've identified early on um some of those experiences for all of our K5 students so right away um they have those opportunities to to jump into the guaranteed experiences to bridge um that gap between schools of success and what it looks like at a high school all the way down to the elementary level and at the elementary level I love that we call our the kids um the Explorers so if if anybody's been in our buildings and at the high school level they'll see portrait of a graduate um but at elementary they see portrait of an Explorer and middle school is Portrait of a connector and I just think those names are really fitting for each level all right so um we don't have any questions that I'm seeing in the chat tonight um so I'm going to run over just a a few upcoming important dates um we have our third quarter break on March 14th so no school all buildings are closed everyone gets the day off um Sometimes some of our staff thinks that they are working that day but that is actually a day when the entire district is closed and then that following Monday is one of our staff training days or waiver days as some people call them um so students will not be in the buildings on that day but staff will be working so for students they have a a 4-day weekend um that week that weekend and then spring break is just a few weeks later uh March 31st to April 4th and today our staff and families should have received an email with our annual survey so uh families if you received that please fill that out you can fill it out um if you want to fill it out more than once you are welcome to fill it out for each school that you have children attending um if you just want to fill it out once we will take that too uh we just we really want to hear your voice we use that data um to make improvements and to make sure that we are on the right track with things so please fill that out Dr Daniel anything else you want to add tonight no I think this has been a great great Facebook live and appreciate both Cara and John being here and you and Steve thank you for all the work you're doing with behind the scenes and your kids uh again hey we need your support so if you can write that letter write that letter text sometime tonight uh IU doesn't play till nine o'clock John so so you got time yeah yeah yeah I might need an extra cup of coffee tomorrow yeah and again appreciate all of our parents uh I think it's been a fabulous year and again we're almost three4 the way so um keep engaging with us and keep reading to your kids thank you have a good night thank you everyone good night [Music]