Thank you for your [Applause] service. This evening, our director of elementary education, Mrs. Schneider, will update you on the elementary recommendations and then Mr. Harsha will come back for the secondary recommendations. Thank you, Mr. Noter. So, we'll start with the review process. So, um PE curriculum was last reviewed in 2019. Um in our review process, all of our elementary PE teachers were invited to participate in the review committee. Um the review committee met monthly from September through March. Um we reviewed the current curriculum the and the equipment um assessing the alignment with our goals and the standards. Um we explored lots of resources that would complement and support the goals that they had for the year. And then for the members were able to attend the inshape PE conference to um learn what's new with in the world of PE. So from that um came some recommendations in place of a written curricular resource.
I wanted somebody that was really engaged. the person did um did trainings for us on school safety and um we did an active shooter training which was actually that actually was a lot of preparation. They t the school resource officer talked directly to my staff to prepare them. Um because I didn't realize I knew it was important, but I didn't realize how much I had uh staff members that literally were thinking like they didn't want to do it. they didn't, you know, and so we gradually moved through the process and um she actually was absolutely excellent and she she actually was one of the people who wrote one of my letters of recommendation. So um so that was a fun journey. Um so um in terms of weaknesses as a leader I mean my weakness is that I really get almost but I think it's also a strength like you get too um I I get very engaged by problems.
And I really just think it helps to build trust. It builds transparency. um you have that community connection with your families and it's also a way for me to to gather valuable insights. So, I'm looking forward to trying that at Potter. Continuing with family and community engagement um and establishing and strengthening those relationships with our families. I'd like to um sort of enhance the volunteer opportunities for parents and families to come into the building. Um I would start by offering a volunteer training which is something that we had done at at the Quinn school together and I also continued at Kushman. Um just to have parents come in across multiple areas in the school. So not even necessarily in their child's classroom but maybe another classroom, maybe outside at recess, maybe in the cafeteria, maybe in the library. So just some different um areas, multiple areas that they can um be a part of our school community.
That's a grant fund. State recognizes a lot of times going to spend that money up front before you actually get the reimbursements back. So they understand that happens at year end especially with timing. So that is allowable. But I always like to highlight you know there is one and it's going to happen in most um school districts with grant funds. But just kind of like to give that reason for you. Next column is your accounts payable. um these are those bills or those amounts incumbred um in that various budget. Uh things like your nom salary that's paid out in July and August, things like that. And then finally, your far far right column is your ending cash in bank um by fund balance. And if you flip down there to page five, you can see where we break out those amounts by the various types of accounts held by the district.
Are we making the daycare building straight and enclosing the remaining part of the old school or were we looking out tearing out some of that to make that wall straight or I was just curious on that. The only work that we would do to the existing building would be cutting in a new opening and then getting the utilities to the This is going up the east hallway. She's telling me about the four I think I think it'd be like here. But the four plans we have don't really match. But so we're trying to do like just a standalone building. Okay. So these ones probably wouldn't go. It would it have to be changed. Maybe parts of it. Maybe parts of it. And this shows it being square. I think you drew this up and when we talked about maybe going out and maybe making a dog leg or something, make it look nice.
I'm telling you, it's really very touching to watch these lessons and to just see this change in the students and to see how they interact. Some the first um lesson no one, you know, they weren't participating and then the second one they have more of participating and they're talking about it the next day with the teacher. It's just really a great way to get our students to be active with our community and it gets community service with our students. So kudos to Billy for bringing it to us and kudos to Heather for being willing to offer this to our community and our community is to see how awesome our kids are. I mean sometimes you don't realize high schoolers are really close to being adults. You know someday they're going to have a job or start their own business or whatever and this is kind of giving them that groundwork to work together.
And that also aligns with one of the other efforts that both this team and the AP team have been trying to accomplish, which is to create a more common set of understandings around what the consequences for various things are. So that way we have consistency throughout the district rather than, you know, if if I'm at this school, I get this consequence, but I'm at I'm at this other school, I get a different consequence. Yeah. Okay. Um I I I feel like we're at a good place with this for Adriana and Jez to kind of take it to the next level of awesomeness for the presentation. Um unless anybody has something else to add, we can move on. Okay. All right. Um it is 6:35 right now and um we essentially just worked on this which is fine and great. Um uh I guess we'll figure out what we can do on later.
Um, you'll talk to us about the lease of Okay. We limited things we can say about this, but we have a snafu in our current plan that you approved a year ago and I can't get into the dollar and census of it. We have to do talk about that in close session. So, but we do have a problem and and we have a time problem because they need to seed the property by May one late is May 15th. So, the board needs to act uh on a proposal that is right in front of us right now. But because we're going to deal with the dollars and cents of it, uh, and we have competitive, uh, people that would like to bid on this, I'd like to have close session to discuss it. Okay, that's all we had. All right, join to close session. I need a motion, second or required to adjourn open session and move to close session.
Um board, in my career, I have been truly blessed to work with some amazing people that have allowed me to come alongside of them. And tonight, three of them will be presenting about our preschool program for HCCS. Their vision and passion and enthusiasm was here long before J. Peter's arrived back in Huntington schools in 2019 and they're going to share with you uh about our preschool program, what it looks like, uh sounds like, feels like in our district. Um they're going to share kind of the past, the present, future of our programming and hopes to give you a snapshot in how it's evolved and also to to show you financially where we're at with this program. And uh so I'm going to turn it over. Let me share and let me introduce uh these ladies. Beth Husband has been our director of special ed for I since 2016.
The review committee determined that equipment would best meet their needs at this time because at this time they are using free and open curricular resources um for PE. Um they had three recommendations for equipment. They are wanting a Gaga pit for every school. Um the Omnic I see you guys uh raising your hands. Everybody knows about Gaga. The Omni sixpack of balls and the Omnikin 48 inch ball. And that's actually a kinball which is um there's a whole sport around this. Um, and also the third recommendation was the speed stacks, uh, 30 pack, and then the jumbo stacks. So, I'll kind of go into each one of those. So, the, um, for the Gaga pits, we're recommending nine pits, um, because we have, uh, nine schools in need of them. This is appropriate for K through six. Um, it's it promotes exercise, physical activity, social skills, and learning through play.
I do and so engaged that I think I sleep on them and they rotate in my brain and uh so um and and maybe that leads to a quicker solution. It definitely gives me less sleep but but I love to think. Okay. Uh thank you Beth. Would you take the next one please? How will you handle the balance of respecting longtime employees of the district's experience and familiarity with how things have always been done with new ideas, changes, and perspectives? You have to do this. You have to honor all of the experience because you will be going at things blind. And I really really um you know if you have to um one of the things that I um like to do sometimes is establish norms like with groups as they come in and I put the norms up on my office wall and if there's opportunity there's always opportunity but I really think you know it's it's you know one it's it's needs to be generated.
And the last one there is to increase our community uh participation in school events and programs. We do have rather large participation in our PTO meetings when we have a bingo night and art night, things like that. But I'd like to extend that a little bit. Um where families can come in and we're sort of like a resource hub for them. So, it might be at night where we're talking about our ELA instruction or our math instruction and what could you do at home to support that. We all know the new math. I was just with a fifth grader the other day. I didn't know how she was doing her multiplication. Not much different than how I learned. So, you imagine what the parents are going through. So, having that um ability to bring parents in for things like that. and we've done a little bit of that with our PTO meetings, but it limits sort of the time that we're able to do it because it's a part of an agenda.
The only other thing I like to point out on here is that negative number on page five, that less agency funds. Um, those are those funds that the district holds in your accounts, but they don't belong to the district, things like your student activity funds and things like that. So, we'll see a schedule those two about the back. Following page starts with the footnotes, I'm just going to highlight a few of these that are kind of the most important kind of change year in year out. Footnote number one is a pretty cookie cutter footnote. Just talks about K, talks about Kansas budget law, uh, talks about the makeup of the district. And the kind of portions that I like to highlight in this but note are on page eight. There's a numbered list kind of halfway down the page. First couple paragraphs underneath there. The first one just talks about that revenue neutral rate hearing.
The front of the building, the south side of the building. And then that overhang, that weird roof thing. I think you cut that off. Yeah, we used concrete chainsaw and cut it off. I think that counts for us because there's really that's an overhang of to be more like a nail. So, is it going to set us back? Can we getting these different floor plan? Right now, right now we're kind of at a stopping point um for now until we can get this finalized. But all this is kind of you know they went they had tesser first and then when they went back to tesser to say okay we need to modify this building some to get new floor plans I don't remember what the cost was 70 grand yeah 70 grand for them just to redo the blueprints that's why I was asking about it because so then when they went when we decided to go away from that that's when um we contacted Barts and Barts came in and um so we're kind of back to the blueprint phase in for this.
Well, and the relationships they're going to build with these business members, leaders in our community will be wonderful. So, future jobs and for the future because no one else does it in the country. I started it at Kennesaw Mountain bringing business people in because according to the kid like I said when we talked about the pilot teachers are stupid their parents are stupid but when a business person comes in and says the same thing all of a sudden the light bulb came on and we saw that a lot in the classrooms. Um Matt Dunn was one of the teachers. He had very bad attendance in first period. After that first lesson his attendance started getting better. um kids that weren't talking in his class, all of a sudden we're building a relationship with them. So that does matter. Having the business person there does and what I want to do in the future is by the time the seniors become seniors, these this uh this freshman class when they become seniors, God willing, because character is if kid doesn't have character, we can't teach them.
Um, so unless somebody has something else for the good of the order, I'm fine going and entertaining an ending to the meeting. Going once, going twice, three times a lady. Okay. Um, so, uh, I motion to adjourn the meeting. Can I get a second? All those in favor say I. I. meeting adjourned. Thank you very much.
Beth I put down. Okay. Uh Laura Lar uh in 2010 was a parah at Lincoln. In 2011 she was a preschool teacher at horse man. In 2016 she was our coordinator of preschool programs. And now in 2023 to current she's our director of our preschool programming. Christy Fischer in 2023 was a preschool teacher at uh Flint Springs. In 2024 Christie you were phenomenal. you started the preschool program at Andrews and you rocked and rolled that and got that going to where it is today. She's now currently coordinator of our preschool programming. Um and so we appreciate um all that these three ladies do and thanks for allowing me to team up with you and so um I'm going to let them share out our preschool program for Huntington Schools. Okay. So just starting off with a little bit of Oh, sorry. Sorry. Better. Better better, better.
Addresses almost every standard. When I went through and looked at them, I couldn't believe how many different standards it would address. Um, they are portable and they can be configured also for multiple activities and they are also designed for indoor and outdoor use. And there's a little picture for you for those of you that are visual like me. Um, also the second recommendation was the Omni. Um, they're looking to um the Omni Six. We need eight sets. Um, Sunny set actually already has a set, so we're trying to level that out and make sure all of the schools have a set. Um, and the Kinballs, um, we need seven of those because two schools already have a set and are using them. Um, again, appropriate for K through six. They can be used for a lot of different things, a lot of different games and activities.
The norms need to be generated by the group, but they need to value honoring past practice because anytime you sit with your union leadership board and they have some sort of a you know something that they want to discuss, it becomes very much well what is past practice? you know, let's tell you about past practice and let's um make sure like I would talk to my principles to make sure that we have a very solid past practice condition that will support whatever the union is wanting to talk about. So um so I believe strongly in that we and I can give you an example um and I can try and make it interesting. Um co-eing is are you all familiar with co-eing or should I explain it team teaching? It's yeah, it's where you balance a special educator and a general educator in the same classroom to um provide um assistance to all students.