Typically on the last part, you're taking the decision of whatever you were going we're talking about in the closed meeting. You're taking the decision in the open forum. That should also be recorded in stream, but typically isn't. Uh okay, next topic. Um thank you PK. Thank you. I'm sorry. Okay. If if anyone else has time, yield to me, I can finish my comments. Thank you. Next is Mike McMahon. Hello. Um, so everything starts with communication. All right. So I was reading through the agenda for today and I wanted to just strictly stay on communication for today. So I put this together. We recognize you have a new board and we encourage board members to reestablish the trust in our community. The only way that this trust can be reestablished is with open communication. So I encourage the board to re-evaluate the one-way conversation which you still have in place on the agenda.
And luckily, uh our team was able to continue getting every single question right. and uh for a perfect score in the math bowl competition of 25 out of 25 questions answered correctly. Um for those of you that are interested, the topics for this year's math bowl competition uh were sector area and arclength transformations, complex numbers, and vectors. In case you didn't know, all those topics are studied in high school geometry, high school algebra 2, and high school pre-calculus. And yet this was these four individuals in front of you were the only team in the entire state of Indiana to answer all 25 questions correctly. And they also in addition to that answered all six additional math questions in interdisciplinary competition uh correctly. So I am elated to get the chance to celebrate them tonight with you. So without further ado, let me introduce you to our four team members.
Congratulations. Yes. All right. So, here is your sheet up student right across the top. Okay, perfect. Um, Kylie Amenana, Gunnar Anderson, Zeke Anderson, we have Arya Bright and Benjamin Brooks who are not here tonight. Um, and then we're on to Danessa Casillas. Aubrey Garcia, Jet James, and then we have Aiden Johnson's not here tonight. Um, Cheyan Khan Solomon's not here tonight, but then we have Maggie Melades. I'm gonna butcher it Maggs every time. And then Ron is not here. Um Reagan Sparling is not here. We have a band concert tonight as well. Um Riley White House. And then um we were fortunate enough this year to have five high schoolers. Like can I lower this? We had five high schoolers who uh came and coached for us. Um, three of them have the band concert tonight. But then, um, we have, uh, Alice Merley who coached like I have she's my kid, but also she coached this English team to first in the like in the district and she also coached in the third in the state.
Thank you for stepping up and and having some words for us. All right, moving on to the approval of the consent agenda which includes the meeting minutes, work session meeting minutes of April 28, 2025, the regular board meeting minutes of April 28th of 2025, allowance of plans, financial reports, and the personnel reports part one and two. Mrs. Roman, yes. Hello everyone. As usual on your um finance package, you're going to couple have a couple regular payrolls for April. The first one was dated the 11th for a total payroll of 444,47476. And as usual, we do have those um uh taxes and retirement that we pay for each payroll. Uh the total for that 11th payroll was 1274372. That second regular payroll was dated the 25th for a total payroll of 48129107. And again, those taxes and retirement 36787. Next in your packet, you've got quite a a list of prepays um for April.
Any discussion? No, no. I was going to say who made motion by Chris Oliver and seconded by Amiral and uh any discussion? All in favor? I I Madam Chair, I'll I'll abstain as I was not here. Okay, that makes it four eyes, one abstension. Um and I am now seeking um a motion for the executive minutes of May 5th, 2025. So move madam chair with the stipulation that they be held until the matter for which they were intended is complete. Second motion by Mr. Nunes, second by Miss Beckwith.
So before we pass out, we have certificates and we have plaques. I was wondering if Mr. Mr. Foso, GFT president would like to come up and just say a few things and then we'll get started with passing out the awards. Just be reminded that once you're called up and you're given your certificate and your plaque, if you could kind of just line up on the side so we could do that photo op at the end, we would appreciate it. Thank you. Okay, I'm back again. Uh I'm honored to be here this evening to also present the awards for 2025 teacher of the year and power professional of the year. There's a lot of outstanding educators amongst this group of honores this year. I just want to read something that was written to me uh by Kristen Miles. She's one of the 20 25 teachers of the year.
So those are some of the things that do make Freedom unique. So when you say they come in at a 74%, is that the kindergarten or are you talking kindergarten and first grade? Because we had both kindergarten and first grade combined. Kindergarten comes in a little bit higher than first grade. If we were going to dug it and I don't have that data at my fingertips, I could provide it. Um, they do. Erin, do you remember for kindergarten? If you go to the next slide where it's broken apart, that's all together. Those are end of the year. But that's kindergarten. Yeah. Yeah. No, we could get it for you, but they tend to come in higher. So, I'm I'm just perplexed that we would have kids coming in at a higher rating score or doing Spalding and then the next year they go down to a lower.
I genuinely cannot express my gratitude for those who have supported me over my journey in the conventions of standard English since I feel it transcends even beyond that. I genuinely mean this when I say this to those who have supported me, friends, family, educators, and anyone in between. Thank [Applause] you. As one of the speakers today, I would like to share some takeaways for all of us to take in as we fully enter adulthood and the real world. We've seen firsthand that the world isn't rainbows and butterflies, and we're constantly reminded of the blankness of the world, especially on the news and media. But as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. Don't let the glooiness of the world intimidate you. You are all more than capable of being and doing well with what you have inside.
And that just wouldn't have been possible without the experiences and friends I made in high school. Especially this past year, those friends and my time with them have helped me become the me I never even knew possible. For all those who encouraged me, you know who you are, and I hope you know how grateful I am for everything you've done for me. This is far from a perfect world. Life gets messy, and the only way I could have made it this far was with the support of the people closest to me. When I had to balance AP and AP, ACT testing with personal health needs, my amazing dad, stepmom, friends, and teachers gave me the resolve I needed to persevere through any obstacle I faced. Now that I'm leaving Greenway, I'm glad for all the ways I've changed these past four years. I walked in as a confused kid and now I'm walking out a slightly older, slightly less confused kid.
We will pass the busy streets, the temples, and finally arrive at a team house where he will buy me a cup of treat tea, a pastry or two, and then we'll make the same meandering journey back home again. Needless to say, my legs will always be sore after each trip. I never got to ask him why he walks. He unfortunately passed away a little bit before I arrived to high school. But knowing him, he probably make a joke about wanting to get away from my mother or my uncles or aunties, but I can only imagine he did it for us. He did it for himself so he can see his children and his grandchildren for longer. He was never afraid of hard work, and that is something I took from him and I taken to heart. When you want something done, you get it done.
On behalf of the students and faculty of Cortez High School, I want to thank you and the senior class for the thoughtful and generous gifts. Thank you. At this At this time, please enjoy the Cortez Concert Band's performance of You'll Never Walk Alone. [Music] Hello. [Music] What do you mean? [Music] At this time, I would like to introduce two special guests. Mr. Mr. Brian Capistran, superintendent of the Glendel Union High School District, and also Mrs. Patty Kennedy, governing board president. Patty Kennedy, a dedicated member of the GUHSD community, was elected in November of 2010. Having graduated from Moon Valley High School, she shares a strong connection with the school as her two children and several other family members also attended. Patty generously dedicated her time as a volunteer for Moon Valley's theater program. Apart from her active involvement in the educational realm, she is an ardent gardener with a special passion for cacti.
My brother who was my friendly competition and influence, Lasto, and of course, my girlfriend, friends, and teachers who supported me along the way and helped create the person that I am today. Congratulations, class of 2025. [Applause] Good morning. This took a bit of time, right? The work of four whole years has now been condensed into a single moment. I want to take pause during this special time to highlight just how important these years have been. We've achieved this milestone through embracing the diverse interests, backgrounds, and goals that make each one of us who we are. To surpass expectations, we first take up space. We take up space in spaces we are not expected to be. We take up space where our legitim legitimacy is questioned. As graduates of Apollo, we are intellectuals never taught to perfectly fit into any space we go. We are individuals who will construct our own paths.
I find no statute which prevents an open dialogue, a back and forth between the commenters um and uh between the residents and the schoolboard members. You have a big job and an obligation to the community to reestablish the trust that we once had with District 301. To conclude, the only only by having an open dialogue with our community can you reestablish this trust. We encourage all sides to be rowing in the same direction. We will never agree 100% with each other or at least that's pretty odd that'll happen. Doesn't happen in life. Uh but in order to come to a uh reasonable covenant with our community, we must hear each other and every uh that starts with a two-way commun conversations. So um I didn't write that right. Anyway, so it starts with two-way communications. If you're going to go to a one-way communication, you're not going to be able to reestablish that trust with the community.
When I say your name, please step forward. Um our first team member was the foundation of the team. Her fundamentals are so strong that she was not going to let it let us make a silly mistake and miss a question due to a silly mistake. Alicia Yang, please step forward. These next two students thrive on the gritty, most complex questions and they just love diving into them. Adve Anup and Anna Nila. And last, our team captain who is decisive in the most difficult situations and she was not going to let us leave with anything less than a state championship. Vishnavvie Penna, congratulations. I'm so proud of all of you and you are a fantastic rep representation of of BCSC. [Applause] Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. You need to stand back. [Applause] So, um, one of the things is that Central did host this event of 17 teams.
Um, like just like I'm proud as an English teacher. I'm proud like I helped, but like you guys know Alice coached you and she did her best and she took what she's been learning at the high school and she used it to like help you guys go and do great things. Um, Alice did that and then Gibson uh and Nick Collier both helped coach our science. Nick is not here tonight because of band. Um Asher McAelie and Beatatric Kershmary are both not here, but they helped coach our social studies team. Um and then yeah, Nick and Gibson coach uh the science team together. But um yeah, we I'm really proud. This is the first time that we've gone to our regional competition and come home medaling in everything. Um there was we got first in English, second in science and interdisciplinary and then we got third in math and social studies unless I messed that up because I don't do numbers.
Um if you had a chance to take a look at um any of those, did you have any questions about any of the prepays for April? No. Okay. There were quite a few of them. And yeah, you probably took a while to get through all of them. So total um prepays for the month of April 2025 674 69021 and then in your packet you've got uh some claims that are dated today May 19th.
Any discussion? All in favor? I I Any abstensions? I'll abstain madam chair. So four eyes, one abstension. And next up, we have the student representative reports from Jordan Rosenberg. Good evening. We've been busy at Dartmouth High School as we finish out the school year. We want to start by sharing gratitude for our teachers and staff in the district. We recently celebrated teacher appreciation week and are so grateful for the amazing educators our district has. We thank you for all that you do. Two weeks ago, our unified arts department hosted their art show. The talent displayed was incredible. Congrats to all involved. Last week was a busy week over at Dartmouth High School with several exciting things happening. We hosted the Special Olympics on Friday, which was an an amazing experience for all, and the class of 2026 had their junior banquet as well as wrapping up with AP exams.
She's an 11-year veteran of K to2 special education. right now she's in a first grade inclusion classroom at Thomas Jefferson School 9 and she wrote to me that she finds joy in watching her students grow and learn from strong connections with them and I really um thought that was a a perfect statement to summarize everything uh as far as the common ground shared by all the winners this year. Uh we see numerous practical examples among our group. Uh since my son Theodore is a student at James Madison School number 10, I'm just going to put a spotlight on that school for a second and point out a couple of things about the winners. Um first we have Miss Sarah Wish. She's a fantastic art teacher. The other night, my wife had to be with one of her friends because something tragic happened and I I got the job of putting my son to bed.
So, if you can explain that. Yeah. if you look throughout the year. So if we look at let's go to well we'll do beginning of the year mid year and end of year. So the dibbles target changes with time and it changes with grade level and what they're expected to do. So when they're in kindergarten I'm expected to say t this is a t t says t. I may be expected to read some nonsense words like tat. When I get into first grade I actually have to read sentences. So it tends to go down. Not all kids start reading fluently at the same time. So something called the or if the oral reading fluency comes into play in first grade. So typically in first grade if you look uh the results do go down a little when you on this one if you look at kindergarten um all schools will use freedom because it's on top.
We have grown and learned so much and now it is up to take us and take this world and do better. Take pride in your amazing accomplishments today and be sure to celebrate with those who have helped you succeed today. But know to never stop learning and to never stop growing. Don't just survive, but thrive. Congratulations class of 2025. You all got this. I would like to know I now have the pleasure of welcoming Mr. Alan Sun to the [Applause] stage. This day wouldn't mean as much without the people who got us here. So, good afternoon to our families, our mentors, and our friends. My name is Ellen Sona, and as we reflect on how far we've come, I found meaning in unexpected places. One of them is a symbol from tarot, the 12th card in the major arcana, the hanged man. He is pictured hanging upside down from a tree, suspended by his ankle in a moment of stillness, but also transformation.