So, I don't know if we could partner kind of like the C4 program. Um, I do know that Evansville specifically, as big of a program as it is, they have one specific JROC program for Evansville only. So, I didn't know it could be easy Columbus only as well, but Yep. So, that's a great question and I have kind of an answer. Um I'm we are exploring a potential partnership. Uh but because it's potential and because it's new, uh I've been asked not to identify anything by name, but yes, we recognize that as a need, there's an area partner who understands it is a need and we are looking to partner in order to be able to offer JOTC to our students. Is that fair, Dr. Phillips? Yes. And I'll just add that there's this there's a balance to be struck between meeting student demand for programs and then putting out programs and trying to recruit students into them.
And I noticed on the one of the slides that you're saying that twothirds of our runs are now being outsourced and it works. I don't know whether you're aware or not what we have been dealing with since the probably the past two years. Our coordinator and assistant coordinator do not have any background in transportation. We have been giving them suggestions since the beginning of this school year of how we have worked as a team over the years with our senior drivers and how we know where any other driver is at any given point and how we can come together and do those runs instead of outsourcing them all the time. Take for this morning for example, I came to work. There were four drivers that showed up for work today. did not have any buses to transport their children because they're broke. They need they've been sitting two buses have been sitting at Elkins right now for over a month.
And so that that arc of like movement is really important to assess whether it's from a communications, whether it's, you know, LeShan has a day-to-day job and LSA has uh how many students are we transporting every day right now? 14,000 over a little over 12,000. Okay. A little over 12,000. So every day she and her team are managing this, right? Thank you for being here tonight. Um she and her team are managing all that and on top of that, working to assess and to improve these processes and on top of that implementing. And so we identified this year that the software that we have in place in our district was using the DOSS operating system. So those were floppy discs that were developed. Our students don't know what 2000, right? So this is like the phone that you take off the register. And so I I I have to give this context for anybody listening because when we talk about change, we have to understand that we purchased the prior to my arrival here probably three years ago, four years ago, the district purchased routing software to help parents know where their kid was on the bus.
And this is just not one in in the last decade or so that we've had a whole bunch of students come and say, "Hey, if we had this opportunity to be in JOTC, um we would love it. We'd take advantage of it and we would stay there for four years." So, we want to make sure we're not putting a program out there, putting resources behind it, and then struggle for four years to find enough kids. It's that balance between we have the demand and then the resources to offer the program. A question. I have a couple curriculum questions. I have many, but I'm going to limit it. Um, so you might have said this, the communication focused course. You mean that we don't need a new course because it's already incorporated in our English courses? Like can you so do curriculum for English 9, English 10, whatever that it includes that or so the answer to that question is we have courses that meet that the requirements.
I don't know what the holdup is, parts, waiting for money. I have no idea. But you had four drivers that are sitting in their vehicles or in the building not being able to work. And then you had two drivers sitting inside the building on standby. So I would like to know what happens. Of course, they paid what, $1,100 to Hillman's today because we didn't have any buses and it was easier to have to give everything to Hillman or outsource it as they're saying instead of us coming together and putting our runs together. I I just would like I want an answer why we have been operating like this. It's been like this for the past six months for the most of the school year. We come, we show up, we're willing to do something, we give examples to upstairs. What can we do? And you know what they say?
But yet the software that was underlying that that that system was a floppy discbased system that required people to use paper and pencil to figure out how we're going to route people. I remember my first day of school here where we had first had students in the house. We did not have special education busing because the system had essentially erased all the routes that had been developed because it was such an old system and there was no correction. So we stayed in the transportation department on Stonehill Drive till almost midnight. The team had to stay here. Brad Vera, the special ed director, all of us were in a room and they were working through it. Not by the fault of the people. They had been planning it, but it had been erased because the software didn't talk to P school. So I I I guess I I want to underscore that.
And so when I'm looking at the uh list of approved courses that would count toward communications, uh we've got journalism, digital media, um um let's see mass media, radio and TV, bizom, visual communications. So we have everything that I just read off are courses that we offer. And so we have courses that will meet uh those needs. But to answer your question, we are also looking at reinstating just communications speech class. So So possibly adding a course that some students would take, but it wouldn't be everybody has to take it. Is that that is right. That that's correct. There's some flexibility in how they'll be able to meet that credit. And it's students that take I don't know what we call the courses, but if they're doing newspaper and yearbook, is that considered? Yes. Okay. Um, good question. And personal finance, I think right now are personal finance courses through the business department.
don't worry about it. And you come in the next day, drivers that are out, one, two, three, because they don't have buses. And then Hillman, Hillman, Hillman, Hillman. Of course, it's easier because you're just giving it all away. And I just want an answer. If somebody can give me one through an email, my district email is Kathy Mer. Why is this happening? How come we get no support? Thank you. [Applause] Wait for my timer. Oh, once you say your name, I'll Miss Jay. Um, I've been a bus driver here for 23 years. So, I'm one of the four that will have a job if that's actually what will happen. I'm also one of the drivers that got together to consolidate runs. So, it is possible. And as Miss Angel had already said, we have Hillman runs that only have three, five, maybe 10 students that go in the same district or same area going to the same school.
First of all, thank you to the team for your leadership in in managing both. Number two, uh we are making we are going to make change. And I'm glad you named it, uh Miss Johnson, because we are going to make those changes, but we're also going to do it in a way that can be sustained and ensure we get to those significant financial savings that we are looking for. And we are going to get there because we don't like to lose and we are going to get there. Can I really add in real quick? I because I just want to piggyback that and I think this is very important to make sure that the community understands because listen I don't want to call out individuals but I can remember um we still had hold outs for a long time that said don't want to levy for CPI and my response to them wasn't I wasn't trying to be a smart Alec I was genuinely saying I listen I want to hear you tell me what the list of cuts are that you're coming with because you can't just say hey we're not going to love you for CPI and these are some of the effects that I think need to be heard heard because I've often said when those conversations happen like the things that you are doing in the name of of of of being fiscally smart are actually costing us more money and those pieces are stories that I think need to continue to be told and heard because listen I that's fine I I don't necessarily like paying like high property taxes either.
Is that So that's complicated too. Uh, it's a good question. Uh, and yes, it is through the business department. Um but also it falls under um social where did I say that falls? It falls under um one of the core departments also and so we can use lure from that department to teach those courses. Okay. Yep. I because it I'm wondering if there's some connection to economics to an economics class. Can it be part of an economics class? And and so you're hitting like you're like you're on the nose. So when we looked at um how we were going to be impacted um personal finance comes under math. Um when we were looking at how we were going to be impacted in the social studies department because econ isn't isn't a a necessary thing anymore for the incoming freshman class. It was like okay well how how can these folks how can they can how can they help us with these new requirements?
Put all those students on a 54 passenger bus. Save my co-workers jobs. We do this day in and day out. We deal with so much that none of you even can fathom. And I apologize for any negativity that's been put on social media. I'm not part of that. However, I just want to say one thing. Myself, just two years ago, we had a different coordinator. I was put into a bus that had not been on the road for four years. It caught fire and I had three preschoolers on that bus. I had to physically pick them up and evacuate. This is stuff that we deal with that's behind the scenes. No one knows. So, when you're telling my co-workers that they don't have a job anymore, that's what you need to think about. This is what we deal with. Thank you for your time. Uh, hi, good evening.
Now, me personally, I I I'm just gonna say it's worth it because our kids are worth it, but I'm also not suggesting um not leving for CPI. And that question should always be followed with, not necessarily not taking someone serious, but say, "What are your list of cuts to go with it?" Because if you don't have that list, you're going to have to make cuts anyways, and you don't even realize it. Whether it's a floppy disc or or running a deficit for sp uh for transportation, these are all cuts that we have actually made and we just don't even realize. But I I really do want to point out one thing and I find this incredibly cathartic as our last sitting business meeting. This is the struggle. Um and Lata and Eugene will I'm assuming I assume will back me up on this. Every year we are get we've been given for the last four years these recommendations.
And so one of the licenses that we can use to teach personal f finance is an econ license and those are very closely related. And so those folks will feel at home teaching those courses. I will say though that uh we've got to phase this in. So we will still have sophomores, juniors, and seniors next year that do need to meet the econ requirement for their core 40. And it will it will move through like a wave. And then in four years we'll we won't have that requirement anymore. And um and I you helped somewhat my understanding under science when it says two STEM focused courses those can be science courses but they could also be really it's to give you the freedom of counting like and the engineering courses as yes meeting that requirement. Okay. Yes. And it is a very long list of uh courses that would uh meet that requirement.
My name is Matt. I live on Lexington Circle here in Marlton. I have three kids. Uh, one have one who's a freshman at Cherokee who went through Demacy. I have a sixth grader at Demacy and I have a fourth grader at TMC who will be in fifth grade next year and we be impacted by a lot of this. Uh, first and foremost, that being said, I want to thank all of our amazing teachers at at Deacy. My kids have had an amazing experience. So, thank you very much. Um, I can't imagine how much harder their jobs will be when we move to 30 35 kids in a classroom, which by the way, I think goes against fire code. Um, they'll much less attention will be given to all these kids, which really leads to the suffering of their education. Uh, which by the way goes against your mission statement.
This is prior to your coming and we question why are we doing something different this year and is it going to get us to where we need to get and we are only as good as the information that we were given. So, we didn't know the DOSs thing at the time. And so, there is a fine line as everyone here in our business meeting knows. The board is here to make, you know, um vote on things over $50,000 based on what the the recommendations from the administration and the very information that we're given we assume is the best information that we have. But that's the struggle. And why I said that to you, Raphael, is that we thought at the time we were making the best decisions with the with the information that we had based on what we were hearing even though we questioned it over and over because it didn't make sense to us.
networking, uh, cyber security, computer integrated manufacturing. Um, and these are all courses we offer. Principles of engineering, uh, civil engineering and architecture, um, in animal sciences, like the plant and soil science, like there website, uh, uh, database development, software development, um, there are a lot of courses that would meet that standard. So I think my question is when I first read it, my reaction was well the S in STEM mean science. So what science course would not meet that? But but it's really to go beyond what's in the science department could still meet it. Is that that is correct. Okay. And my last question is um under employment and enlistment um one of the requirements is you mentioned the attendance goal. Do we know how high of a goal that is? And and is it a concern that freshmen don't quite understand that they might burn a bridge their freshman year in terms of attendance that they can't recover?
You said this budget will will meet our kids' needs. How exactly will that happen when you increase the class size? How exactly will that happen when you put our kids at risk when you rent out space to Yale at the Macy school? You said you made a commitment to Yale to find them space. What happens to the commitment to our kids? Keep them safe and give them a good education. That's your mission statement, right? At least part of it. I along with everybody else at Deacy do not support renting out space to the Yale students. My children no longer feel safe there. How would you feel? I beg you to reconsider this decision not to rent out space at Demacy. By the way, how much money do you have in the budget for a lawsuit when something happens to one of our Demacy students because of an unfortunate troubled Yale student?
And that's why I think it's so important to tie kind of connect all these dots of we know it's an issue. Is it in the strategic plan? Do we have all the learnings from the past to say let's not repeat these things and are we making a a substantive change but also a sustainable change. Is this something that's going to last us? We asked that question so many times when we were signing new routing software, new this software and Latana kept saying is there something better? Because if there's something better bring us that and we'll figure out a way to get to finance it. But that was what we were told. So it it's a it's a pain point I think for me personally because we know what we're heading to, but we also have all this history that we've learned from. So just wanted to connect all those dots of why I was asking those questions and not trying to be combative, just trying to future thinking.
I don't know that I've seen it written what that goal is. I would bet it's 95%. Um but I I I don't know that I've seen it written. Um and so there are a lot of uh missing pieces to this puzzle that we're waiting on. And that is not me being critical. I understand that uh the folks at the state are going 100 miles an hour and they'll get it to us when they can, but I don't know that I've seen that. That may be one more thing we drop in the laps of our cohort teams, I think. So, I'm glad you brought that up. The cohort teams do uh talk about attendance. It's one of their metrics that they measure and pay attention to. Um and they know who is meeting the standard of 95 and above. They know who's chronically attendant, uh chronically absent, and they know who's in between.
Keep that in [Applause] mind. Good afternoon, good evening. Time is good night. Um, my name is Shalica. I come to these meetings time and time after again. And during the spring break, I did some looking and you know, stuff like that. Dr. Smith, when you first got here, the very beginning, this is what you said, and this was the last part of what you said is a last belief. We will not just rise to these challenges, but become stronger and better because of them, more communive and collaborative, more intentional in our decisions. is all aligned to the goal of helping our children. Right. That's what you said. I believe in genuine and real communication. Everyone's voice is valuable. Please share thoughts, ideas, concerns, and more with your principal and me. I will be looking for ways to listen together. As a team of district, families, and town community, we will meet the challenges we are facing.