Her determination and commitment to excellence are truly commendable. Congratulations, Candace. parents, do we get photos, too? Are we good? So, Candace, just stay right there, Candace, because the next award, Stay right there. The Huntington North 400 free relay team. We're proud to recognize them tonight, consisting of Candace Kohhoffer, Anna Kohhoffer, Anika Carpenter, and Laya Kowalsski for setting a new school record with a time of 3 minutes 48 seconds on February the 10th. Their teamwork and dedication led them to surpass the previous record set in 2007. Congratulations, ladies. Awesome job. Sorry. Okay. We good parents? Stay put. Smile. Fuzzy pickles. Congratulations, ladies. Lastly, we'd like to recognize Carrie Neil and Crystal Streer for their advocacy and impactful testimony at Senator Jean Leasing's Indiana Rural Caucus meeting. Their support for the IDOE and Indiana Roboc grant has been invaluable, furthering opportunities for special needs students in the areas of phonics and numeracy.
That very first pack meeting at Faith Community Church was the first time in a real long time for me uh that I had seen the scout sign raised to get everybody's attention. Um, and once the pack recited the oath and law, all those words came rushing back, as did all the memories of my own scouting days. Uh, which got me super excited to introduce my son, Andrew, to this experience. Um, there were certainly some bumps at the outset. First, we had to plan events around uh those triple E uh mosquito restrictions. Uh, then soon after that, of course, the pandemic forced us to hold den, pack, and even committee meetings over Zoom. Um, even the Pinewood Derby was fully remote. Um, we had a crew of socially distanced den leaders racing our handmade scrambled eggs live on YouTube. Um, the challenges we endured together were all above and beyond the typical demands of scouting, but we prevailed.
Uh so we'll talk about some of those things. Um and then obviously the tenative budget and now we're here tonight um for this final final vote. Hopefully uh the board supports this. I want to appreciate the board and meeting in the uh the uh meetings that we had the financial meetings and and stuff like that. So, let's talk about enrollment because I know preschool's been a a a big thing that uh we've been talking about for the last uh nine months I've been here. There is a decrease there is a decrease in in preschool enrollment. Um these are the true numbers that you're seeing here. We'll go over some of it um a little later. You'll see a little bit more direct stuff. So, around 50 students plus or minus. That's nothing more than in the past because Garfield had a preschool early on. There were there were students from a lot of towns, a lot of people moved here.
Their voices represented the passion and dedication of educators throughout our district. Thank you, Carrie and Crystal. Well done. Okay. Again, join me in congratulating all of tonight's core value honores. So, parents, I know that you would love to stay for the rest of the meeting. I can tell it. I can see it in your eyes. Um, but you are at this time you are free to leave if you would like to do so. You're free to stay, but now would be the time. If you'd like to leave, you may do so. Thank you again for coming. We appreciate that. says team. Go ahead. Cool. All right. Uh now moving on to item C, items for visitors, public comments. I only have one individual sk uh signed up, uh an Ashley Harris. Okay, please come to the podium. Uh, as a reminder, board policy is you have five minutes to speak.
And in doing so, our scouts develop skills that they'll retain for the rest of our lives. You know, we uh we attend these meetings and we look forward to interacting with our friends, running around, letting loose, etc. But amidst all that well-deserved fun, we also partake in many um enlightening and enriching activities seemingly to fulfill requirements. But these activities collectively, well, they actually amount to some tangible skills. Uh, for example, with scouts, we learn how to survive in the wilderness, how to camp, how to hike, how to respond to emergencies, how to sneeze like penguins. Um, how to stick to a budget, how to build things with our hands like Pinewood Derby scrambled eggs. Uh, how to be loyal members of the community by providing helpful services to our neighbors, including door-to-door delivery of wreaths, Hanukkah candles, and toasters. We strive to be kind to the environment, to our families, to our friends, and of course to ourselves, uh by learning about healthy eating and exercise.
Now almost every town has a preschool program because of the aid that was given out over the past five or six years. It's nothing to do with anything else but that. And and I have to applaud everyone here, the past boards, the past administrators, everyone because you all still do, but you all then had prominent preschool programs. You really did. uh just going into those rooms now. And I I've argued with many people in different districts that preschool is not important, which is the worst thing to possibly say. We all know the earlier we can get kids in in classrooms learning things, the earlier we can identify problems is is better. As parents, we know that too, right? Okay. So, there's some percent changes there. Here's the real enrollments, though. This is for real. Okay? This is the real stuff, real time. The number on the left is a number that gets reported.
Uh, so please stay within your time. Uh, Miss Gray, can you run the timer, please? Go ahead. Yeah. As you prepare for your Our current handbook include schools included. that will facilitate students. However, students with disabilities are to account for disability related behaviors. The absence of reference to disability considerations in the general disciplinary policy could unintentionally communicate that such factors are not relevant or of concern to the schools and can contribute to misunderstandings and mislication of discipline for students whose behaviors are rooted in unmet disability related needs. This absent absence limits a parent's ability to understand how to effectively support their child through challenges in the school system. When key information is missing, families are left navigating complex circumstances without a map. I was taken aback by how the middle and high school handbooks reference disability laws in the discipline sections. Instead of highlighting these laws as protections for students with disabilities, the language frames them as support for the school's right to discipline, undermining the true purpose and the foundation of inclusive education.
Um all these skills are are generally acquired by people much later in life, if ever at all. And as scouts, we develop these skills early and voluntarily because we choose to. You all make this choice and do so alongside plenty of other activities and responsibilities. I know how busy many of you are because I've seen so many of you competing in law fields, performing on stages, and enjoying town events. But despite your busy lives, you still make the time and the choice to excel as scouts and build these valuable skills. And in light of that, I hope that all the scouts in the room, all of you, I hope you're all incredibly proud of yourselves because you deserve to be. And for whatever it's worth, know that I'm proud of you, too. And above and beyond that, trust me when I tell you that your parents and families are especially proud of you.
Okay? It's an ASA number. Okay? It's an it's called the October 15th number. The number on the right is a number that we took a snapshot of March 1st. Okay, so you could see some of the differences, the differences in and out. All right, different schools, some some increases, some decreases. Uh historically, um around January, there's a big jump. And don't forget, we're also doing the re-registration now, so we don't know where these numbers are going to be. We don't know if it has anything to do with these numbers, etc. Again, this will all be posted so you can see it. Um, interestingly enough, the middle school and high school have had a jump in enrollment, okay, for whatever reason that is. So, let's think about that for a second. Okay. Um, our goal is to maintain those numbers, too, by adding, adding more things for our students to to have uh for accomplishments when they get there.
Addressing these concerns at the most basic level may provide insight into a broader challenge I know this district faces, maintaining enrollment. I reviewed student handbooks from neighboring districts and found clear examples of how to set a strong standard for identifying and supporting students with disabilities through detailed intervention plans, transparent communication of available services, acknowledgement of student rights, and guidance for parents. Transparency builds trust. When families understand their rights and how to access support, it strengthens relationships, encourages collaboration, and makes them more likely to stay. I encourage the board to take these concerns into consideration before approving the proposed handbooks tonight. Addressing these concerns in the handbook is just a starting point, but it's a meaningful one. The student handbook is a doc document that every parent and student receives and that families consider considering enrollment will review. Let it be a tool that reflects commitment to transparency, inclusion, and access.
And as I scan the room, I see a bunch of nodding heads and nodding left earlobes. So I say this unequivocally with 100% confidence. They're all very proud. So on that note, please allow me to take the opportunity to thank you, everybody in the room, the scouts, their families, the volunteers alike, for your collective efforts, and helping to shape and enhance these last 200 years. Thank you for all your cooperation, your attention, your great attitudes, your hard work, and for being exceptionally skilled at keeping the meetings fun. Skibby for me and especially fun for your fellow scouts. Skiibby dot dot dot sigma. And lastly, thank you for allowing me to play even a small role in your scouting journeys as one of leaders. And by the way, for any moms, dads, or other caregivers in the room who have ever considered a volunteer role, I can assure you that it is well worth the ride and well worth the effort.
And hopefully that's going to keep some of our students from going to the charters and the private schools, etc. Some of the stuff we're going to uh talk about moving forward uh with regards to programmatic issues. Okay, so there's some enrollment stuff there. uh again. So we're looking at you know 3/4 73.75 increase from those two numbers. So so basically from your September 30th that's our first enrollment number right we get kids in the classrooms for 3 weeks they sit down we know people are in and out there's our number and now where we are. So we're looking at a we're still looking at a um an increase total increase of 73%. important to understand that even though the preschool population seems to be declining, we're on an incline on an increase moving forward. And that and that's important to think about when we're talking about facilities.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Uh do we have anyone else that would like to address the board this evening? Seeing none, we'll move on to item D1, special presentation, police canine unit. We are uh blessed. Yeah, we are blessed this evening uh to have several uh members of our law enforcement here tonight. Um they have some truly exciting news uh to share with you, not only as a board, but for us as a community. And so, Police Chief Boxel, I will turn this over to you. Hey, Chuck, would you want to help that mic? Yeah, tilt that mic. There you go, Corey. Gotcha. So, thank you. And we'll uh uh turn it over to you, uh Corey. Okay. Well, good evening. Uh my name is Corey Boxel. I have the privilege of serving as chief of police for the city of Huntington.
But for me, after tonight's crossover, I'll no longer be one of the leaders at the Cub Scout level, at the pack or DEM level. However, as a proud parent of a rising boy scout, I look forward to witnessing the ongoing progress that all of our new Boy Scouts will undoubtedly make as they continue to evolve into leaders in their own right. So, from the bottom of my left earlobe, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] Some of the arrow light scouts will now read about the seven arrows of the arrow of light. Their dead leader will light a candle at each reading, letting the flame represent each of these values. Will these scouts please go now to their stations? Every Cub Scout here has promised to do their best to do their duty to God and their country to help other people and obey the law of the past.
And the main thing we're going to be talking about in a few seconds, which is uh statutory compliance that that we haven't been in for many many years. Okay, next slide. Okay. So, here were here is where the budget allocations for that increase that increase that you saw at 5.5. Here's where it was. The main one right there were 20 new positions. When I first when I first laid out this budget with Miss Derek, I said, I want to put everything in here to make sure we're in compliance. All the areas that I've heard about since I've been here. uh the preschool compliance issue, which is a head start issue that I'll be talking about a little bit at the second meeting because I know some people are asking about that. All of those things, how much do we need? How much does this board need moving forward to make sure that all of our kids, all of our staff members, everybody gets what they they need compliance-wise?
Appreciate you guys letting us come in here and share with you tonight. We uh myself included, we are tremendously excited for this announcement. um as we continue to further our our department and uh and our community for that matter. And so um what I'd like to start with is just some introductions. I actually have two teams of people here with me this evening that I'll introduce separately. But um after some introductions, I'd like to give you a little bit of history about how we're we got to this point both from a planning perspective and then also a a financial perspective as well. So with me this evening, I I have Mayor Richard Strick. He's in the back there. Sorry about that. Um, I have my assistant chief, Chris McCutchen. I have my administrative captain, Andy Elllet. Our school resource officer, Daniel Loe's, who's primarily assigned to Riverview Middle School, and he also teaches the DARE program for us at uh, not only Riverview, but also Salamony Elementary and also Lincoln Elementary.
Tonight we will see scouts advance for the highest ranking contest, the arrow of light. And truly you know they have done their best. The first rate of wisdom. Wisdom does it not knowing everything but putting the knowledge you know behind greatness. The second phrase is courage. Courage doesn't mean you are afraid but that you do what you must in spite of your fears. The third way is self-control. Self-control is not just controlling your camera but controlling yourself and act thoughtully and rationally in everything you do. The fourth right is justice. Justice is treating everyone fairly without prejudice just as you would want to be treated. The fifth ray is faith. Faith is believing and trusting in someone without something without the need for physical food or evidence. The sixth ray is hope. Hope is looking forward to the future with optimism, trusting that things will work out for the best and believing that you can make a difference.
And that's a 6A regulation in title 6A, which a lot of people don't understand as education as well. It's usually 18A we talk about. Title 6A talks about SDA districts or former Abbott districts. There are specific enrollment numbers for each classroom. Okay. Uh working with some of the unions this year who have actually made this uh a priority this year. We'll just leave it at that. Okay. Um we needed this I needed this board to understand that in order to maintain the numbers underneath to stay in compliance that we weren't out of code compliance which we've probably been out of code compliance for 15 years now. Okay. So with this budget and the approval tonight, we're going to add 20 new instructional positions, okay, to the district so that we stay in compliance. Now, what that means is that enrollment in the classrooms, enrollment numbers will go down, smaller class sizes.
I also have with me uh, Chief Deputy Chad Hamill from the Huntington County Sheriff's Department. Mr. Zach Baker, the assistant principal of Riverview Middle School. He's in attendance as well. And I have a whole group of special guests that I already mentioned that played a vital role in making this dream a reality. And I'll I'll get to those here a little bit later on. For some history, if I could, I'd like to provide you with a little bit about how we got here from a planning perspective and also a fundraising perspective. When I took this position as chief of police uh a little over three years ago now, one of my department goals was to resurrect the K9 program for the Huntington City Police Department. Believe it or not, uh, my administrative captain, Andy Elllet, was the last K-9 officer that our department had, and he retired his dog in the year 2011.
The seventh ray is love. Love is caring for others and putting their needs ahead of your own. This applies to your family, friends, and others. Thank you, Scott. Okay. So, as you see, we do have a lot of scouts here today. And normally, we would invite both parents to come stand up with their scout, but this time we're going to do a reverse Sophie's choice. And we can have one family member for each of the scouts please come up and stand behind their scout. Because your family helped you out on your climb, they will now be present with you to receive the arrow you have created that represents your journey towards the arrow of light. At the base of these arrows are three feathers. The three feathers represent the three groups which support and uphold the scout, their dead leaders, their families, and their pack.