So that required a change order. As you can see from the report, we have the funds available to cover that. So that's what that is for. Okay, great. Thank you. Y So do we have an estimated timeline about that elevator? This this gives me hope that it's actually progressing, which is great. Yes, it is progressing timeline. I would have to get back to you on that since uh Mr. Number since this is a capital, he's overseeing that. So great. We can find out. Thank you. Um the other the comments that I just have to make about this discussion of having balances or not and whether or not that is a good thing for us to do. I I can't help I I can't help but hear your comment that as a taxpayer to the city you had hoped that your tax money's that particular year would go to that year's expenses.
And I am so happy to share with you that last year our SWD graduation rate was 81.5%. We raised it over 16 points in three years. It's huge. And I'm super proud of everyone involved in this and it's it's been a process and um we actually were asked to present at the Carnegie Summit on systems improvement in education earlier this month about this work and we did and um the CDE tweeted about it. So please feel free to check that out. And um the CDE has also asked us to go to Washington DC to the US Department of Education's special education uh summit in August and present at a national level about this work and about the improvement that we've seen over the past couple years. So I'm really excited about that as well. So you've heard enough from me. You're probably bored of hearing my voice.
A particular highlight was attending Sitting Bull Academyy's first grade production of Once Upon a Lily Pad on March 12th. The performance was full of heart and talent. Uh, thank you to Mrs. Nelson and the entire City Bull team for your work supporting our young performers. I also had the opportunity to attend Granite Hills High School's production of Lelay Miser's. It was absolutely spectacular. Congratulations to Mrs. Gleason for her and her team and all the student performers. Their singing, acting, and overall stage presence were extraordinary. And if you haven't seen it yet, I encourage you to hurry and get your tickets for this Friday or Saturday. You won't be disappointed. And you'll get the chance to see our very own Hannah in the show. On April 2nd, I was able to attend the Greater High Desert Chamber State of Education Morning Insight event and I was really excited to see that three of our outstanding students were awarded scholarships.
If a parent requests to have their younger sibling go to those schools, we will permit that and we will allow that through the end of 8th grade. Um, however, we're going to be pretty uh pretty strict in our in our in enforcing our district attendance and boundary policy about where you live is where you go to school. Now, every situation is a case-byase basis. So, there might be a circumstance other than a sibling where a student might need to go to a different middle school. So, I'm not saying that it's it's a no, but we do have to be very careful because the whole idea is that we're trying to balance out the entire uh you know, three middle schools eventually. The other important thing um that I want to make sure and it's going to be communicated in the letter that goes out to parents tomorrow.
Um Monty, great job on scaffolding. So So you you use the word, you pick up the vocabulary, you're ready. Um yeah, working through staffing um right the opportunities trying to figure out where we're at um and do those things and how do we best provide the environment that motivates and engages our students. It's good. Congratulations to Andrew Nicodemus. He's the recipient of the ISBO Early Impact Award. um award honors individuals who have made notable contributions or shown outstanding engagement in a short time emphasizing their active participation and positive impact as newcomers to the field. Um Andrew's background and his capabilities and his capacity, you know, already healthier. We're going to be in one of those years. Um what happens is that yeah, as as your home Yeah. your personal and business property tax comes down and the homestead act come off as a homeowner you're going to love it like right our net assessed value of our homes is like going to disappearity of our tax worst four five in year six um and so that those are not the fun things that we'll work through and we'll figure it out and um you know met with Jay we've met some other people like what are the little things we can do now?
I'm not sure I put a link but I I believe because I did that actually like a while ago. I believe they were in their regulations, not in bylaws. It would they have a planning board regulations, right? Some are eight pages, some are 80 pages. Was 80, but 40. Um, so I do not believe any were a bylaw. I was in the planning board essentially process. It kind of makes sense. The planning board already has jurisdiction in the project. Logically, ability jurisdiction mess with our decision, come back. That's really what this that's what it is. Yeah, I mean I think that process, you know, reading it further is yeah, might might be a good one here. You know, the step A is that um if the town planner and board chair, I don't think necessarily has to be the chair, but so say town planner and someone else agree that the proposed change is Dominous, their decision shall stand without review by the board and shall be recorded in the case file.
But I I just can't think that that actually is sound fiscal practice. And I don't actually think that it would be possible to have your tax receipts and your tax expenditures happen all at the same time. The timeline of how things happen just doesn't work that way. I also am thinking about, you know, the question of it it for a school committee. We love all of our kids right now and we love all of our future kids just as much. Even the ones we don't have yet, the ones we hope to have, the ones we plan to have in the future. And it is our job to plan for them right now, even if they're not the students who sit at our tables with us or who are getting the awards or lighting up our fourth grades. You know, we are planning for the fourth grades five years from now.
So I want to bring up someone who's more important than I am. This is Francine Peralta and she is one of our amazing teachers. She's a teacher at Western as I'm sure you can tell from her sweatshirt. Go Paios, which was actually the first school I taught at in this district. And Brad was my school psychologist. So, I don't want to say how many years ago it was, but I got a plaque this year. I'll just leave it at that. I can't hear. So, I'm going to turn it over to Francine to talk a little bit about what all of this means on the ground and in the moment for her as a teacher and then also for her students. Thank you. Sorry, I'm going to have to pick this up a little bit. Okay. Hi, good evening, Superintendent Metsuda, board president O'Neal, trustees, families, and the AUHSC.
Pastino Gonzalez from Apple Valley High School and Fabian Carol and Miley Taylor Orin from Granite Hills. Congratulations to these scholars. We are proud of you and we wish you continued success. I also participated in the High Desert School Boards Association regroup and restart meeting which provided a great opportunity to collaborate and connect with fellow board members across our region. And finally, as we head into testing season, or maybe we're in the middle of it, I want to acknowledge the tremendous effort our students are putting into their academics as well as the support of their teachers, staff, and administrators and parents. Thank you for your commitment to preparing our students for success and let's continue to work together to support and uplift every student every day. And again, thank you to our honores. Um it's always really great to honor our staff and our employees. Thank you so much.
It was very very important to me and this administration that parents know that regardless of where you live, your child will have a consistent learning experience at all three middle schools. Meaning they will have the opportunities that every other student has at the middle school level. So, as a practical matter, having only sixth grade at the new middle school next year, it might not be practical to offer every single thing that Woodro Wilson and Christopher Columbus offer. However, if there is an activity that a student wants to participate in and it's only available at Woodro Wilson Middle School, we're going to make sure that that student has the opportunity to participate in that activity um after school, whether it's a club, a sport, um the the school musical. Um the goal first is to try to have that activity at the new middle school. If that can't happen because we don't have a teacher to run that activity or there not enough students, we're going to provide transportation after school to Woodro Wilson Middle School to so that student can be a part of that activity.
What can we do here? Because you know that's a million dollars. Millions dollars state that for the record as a million dollar as a a million dollar loss by then and you think about that you know in our operation funds we only received about three. Yeah. So um it's it's fine. Now, we will see. Representative Thompson did say, "Trust him. He will work with us." And I've worked with him twice and he has been honest and lived up to his word on both times. So, yeah, he's and so I think there's some thing I do think there's some things coming down the road that are you can they are making hard shifts in education. Um Jay touched on it and we talked about this. We are almost just the right size. We are the right size to be able to offer so many programs. We're the right size to have our kids be able to be involved in many things and we're the right size to be able to weather some of these things.
that the town planner and the board chair agree that the proposed change is not deminious or if the town planner and the board chair fail to agree on the determination it will be referred to the board. Um and of course if they think it's not it that would definitely come back to the board. So um which which kind of makes a lot of sense. I also I just don't think it doesn't necessarily have to be the board chair because there there might be someone else on the board. The board chair doesn't have to be a designer or have the most experience on the board. You can appoint someone. You could appoint someone. If we do that and not the board, I mean, I I personally prefer, if I'm not going to be on the board too much longer, but that that whoever is making the decision has to write a little thing of why and sign their name to it and not just tell the board about it.
You know, the ones who might be in AEL hopefully or the ones who are coming into EEL. And so I don't think that it is prudent for us to completely drain any reserves we have now and shortch change those future kids. I just I don't see that that is going to be a solid move for us especially if we know or we can suspect or we are even being counseledled by other members of our own committee that the future years are going to be worse than they are even right now. And so it is prudent for us, I think, to continue to have some funds available to us to lessen the damage um as it gets thrown at us. So that's that's sort of how I'm how I'm viewing that particular practice. Thank you. Anyone else who hasn't spoken yet? I'll speak um or ask I guess because we just as a reminder to members um we're actually not deliberating about the budget tonight.
My name is Francine Peralta and I'm an educational specialist at Western High School. I'm here tonight to discuss the SAI model and how it's beneficial for our students and teachers alike. I started working within the district nine years ago as an instructional assistant and now as a teacher. So, I've really gotten to see how this whole program began and ended or now it's being implemented. Um, I've personally seen the benefits that our students have through the SAI model. For example, teachers who normally remained within the SDC setting now have access to the general education curriculum in real time. I have the benefit of co-eing in with an amazing general education teacher in English 2. I also teach the SEC English 2 class. Last semester, all the general education English classes were reading poet X. I was then there able to take the same book, the same curriculum, scaffold it, change the pacing a little bit and bring it back to my SDC2 um students.
[Applause] Uh Renee Long short. Um yes, good evening. I know it's u running into the later hours, so thank you for being here and uh an extended thanks to all of our students who spoke. It's so fun to watch them present and be so confident and add their humor. Um just I can see them being leaders as they continue on in their education. So it's a pleasure as always. Um I too had a great chance to attend many events this past month. um enjoyed the first grade play. I had heard so much about it. Um so it was just wonderful to be able to see there. Congrats to the talented performers and their teachers, Mrs. Cabrera, Mrs. Keith, Ms. Kelly, and Mrs. Nelson. What incredible talent we have in our district. Um I also enjoyed attending ABSD field day on March 13th at Granite Hills High School.
That's the extracurricular stuff. But as far as the actual curriculum, the new middle school will follow the same curriculum and schedule and have all the other same programs as every other middle school. Um, so that's important uh to know. I wanted to say that publicly, but it will also be in the letter that goes out to parents tomorrow. So, tomorrow morning, parents will be notified. The uh meet and greet with the new uh building principal, Mr. Berlini, will take place on May 27th at 6 p.m. And we will schedule a um open house in August. like to mention that next Wednesday, April 16th, is take your child to work day. The Roberts children are looking forward to coming to work, but no work actually gets done on that day because it's like a mad house. It's important to note it's not the it's not the national day because we happen to be off school on the national day, but this board uh thankfully helped us pass a resolution allowing us to create our own take your child to work day.
Um so, but we're going to be smart. We're going to do the best we can for schools. Um working with Thrive, with the mayor, you guys know those things. Check in your board updates. That's kind of the new thing.
Hey, we got five of these. Here's why we said it was and you sign your name. I'm good with that. Yeah. I like this. I like this process faster. Yeah. To report back. I think they should have to report back to the board. Yeah. Right. Could be chair or appointed member. So the chair doesn't feel like doing it. But to me, this is kind of a no-brainer. Again, as long as for sure have to add that design element. Well, I'm not sure um with this process. I'm not sure it's about a design element. It's like is it a it's more like is it a big change or is it a little change and if it's a big change then someone might be you know it looks like a big change to me. So I think it should come to the board. So that's fine. It sounds to me like we we've made some good progress.
It's not on our agenda. We're currently on the item on your agenda business manager fiscal year 2025 year-to- date budget update budget reports review. So questions should be related to those items. Um I guess my I just have a question. Um Mr. Pquette, if you could um remind us uh whether you are available for us to ask questions to you in advance of uh public meetings. I'd be more than welcome to. Okay. Okay. So, if we have like good faith questions about revolving accounts and the ins and outs of them and how they work, we can pick up the phone and just call you. Absolutely. Okay. Thank you. Member Goodwin, I guess we put a budget forward. The superintendent puts a budget forward every year. Um, for the last three years, there's been 4 million in revolving accounts each time that budget is made. When that budget is made, I think as a taxpayer, I have the right to know that there's $4 million sitting in a revolving account, whatever you want to call it, whether it's rainy day money, whatever.