There was focus on community excitement, community and excitement. Um the I wonder event is under planning and participation where I know some high school students will be going to volunteer. Uh there are 90 plus participating second and third graders which is the largest group they've had yet. Uh child centered STEM inquiry enrichment projects are being uh offered to the students and there is the PTO pancake breakfast on Saturday February 7th. the 100 day food drive which is running through February. February 13th sports the candy food bank with third graders leading connect collection graphing tallying and organizing donations and cherry singers new session started led by Miss Card for second and third graders with legal rehearsals building teamwork confidence and the performance readiness for >> that was pretty good. Thanks everybody.
And when you love the sport and you have passion for the sport, it shows on the court. Congratulations. >> And I'd just like to say that I'm not going to take him up on his offer because I'll bring snacks for everyone, okay? I'll make it real easy. So, um, you know, being a person that came from a single parent household, it was really hard to be an an athlete or involved in athletics, but so when I hear, you know, not just you ladies, how proud we are of all of you, but everyone that always comes here throughout the years that I've been on the board, I just really admire that passion because, you know, it's a I loved many sports and and I never really got to that opportunity to play. So, every time there's an award being presented up here, I just, you know, I sit up here and I say, "Wow, I'm so proud of them." Because it takes a lot of discipline and a lot of commitment and you really are there to represent the district.
So that's why we need to educate people because when they look at that table they may think that their house is worth double that. Okay? And then they'll do the calculation in their head. So, this is what we're trying to share with people in a transparent way of how our county assessors are picking up property um propos 117 mu deer way similar lower ridge drive a little lower and the different numbers in there for you though. Okay.
>> That's the one that they sent you all. Yes. I >> there's a lot of link. >> So, okay. So, your email is going to look like this. >> I sent it to you Friday. >> Okay. So, you click on the link >> and then in each area there's the analysis and the data for you to interpret. So if you look at the if you click on the first link it'll take you to the overview of all the all the high-risk and districts approaching high risk. The second link here the 26 results get you back to our district. Now in case you were wondering you can come up and change the district that you want to see. So, if you wanted to compare us to somebody else, you just open up another screen, put the two side by side. >> All right. So, one of the questions that we keep getting asked is how do we get more people or how do we get more money in our district?
>> So, it if the modeling >> you're going to have to explain a little bit more to me cuz probably what I would recognize is a more traditional. So, what does the modeling look more like? And you say that that's what they're doing at ASU. Do we know what other colleges are doing if students go to other places like BYU or or NAU? >> So, a piece of that I think what Dr. Cox was referring to was the graduates coming to us, that's how they've been trained. >> Okay. >> So, the teachers walking into the classroom, that's their background, >> not necessarily preparing our kids to walk in. >> Okay. >> So, in terms of all the universities, ASU is one of our primary feeders of professionals coming into the coming to us. So that's where the college experience and training comes from. That's >> Sorry if I was confused on that one.
>> [music] >> First up, we have Linda Payne. >> Hi, my name is Linda Payne and I've been here several times. I want you to gra to congratulate I mean to congratulate the district on that amazing program, especially those young special needs kids. I have a friend who works with them and I know she puts a lot of effort and time into trying to make that program an amazing program but it was with a lot of the other programs too. I really liked it. Um, I just am concerned because there seems to be so much division, especially among some of the board members. And I just I don't know how many of you actually go back and research a lot of the things that you're discussing, but I know that in the past Anna has, and she's really researched a lot. And I just feel like she's not here tonight and I wish she was because I just wanted to thank her because as I've gone back and listened to a lot of the um recordings could I've been out of town quite a bit.
>> Thank you, >> Mr. Beckett. on number 26. Um, just for clarification, because at the last the last governing board meeting, we actually um approved the hiring of someone for that assistant superintendent of human resources. Um, can you kind of just I want to be transparent in case people saw that. >> Thank you, President Katray. That's that's a question. Again, this is the process whenever you enter in negotiations with staff members, especially high need staff members in a cabinet level position. Chief human resource officers are not easy to find and we are in a competition for them. The gentleman that we offered the position to did accept another role and had to withdraw his name. Saying that though, I believe we have an excellent candidate that will be is being recommended for the role and again I super confident that we're not going to miss a beat with the work going on in HR with the candidate.
>> We can kind of factor those things in now. We're only talking a good a good year or so, couple years from now. So, what do you think, Bill? >> It may be a great opportunity. It >> makes sense just to at least >> Yeah. So, now we know. >> Technically, two and a half school years from now, it's going to come up. >> So, if an architect looks at it and has >> kind of like a pre-walk through when you're closing on a on a house, >> right? At least if someone walks through a week or two before closing, you can see some of the well two and a half years, you at least have an idea. Is there any big tickets or no? Right. Because I think in this last round 2023, we I think our total for all the >> Oh, it was good.
However many there are this year. So, >> I didn't count the policies, but there's 45 pages. >> Yeah. >> Is that just in the first attachment or >> No, that's okay. >> So, >> I get tired of reading them on the screen, so I printed them. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I can't do it on the screen. I'm I'm a paper guy, so 100%. I think we're down to items from superintendent then. >> Yeah, I just a couple things um that I didn't include here, but I will I wanted to mention I guess one two while this is public. Um the 26 27 school calendar. I'll I'll bring that guys uh for you on uh next week's regular board meeting to look at. Um I I I got one one call um well not a call, one personal conversation about the 2526 calendar. Um cuz it said no school or makeup day.
I know it was a conversation that took place la last scooping meeting. I know it's February and I'm an interim um superintendent, but I have goals and the same goals that we've been working on and things that we've been doing. So, I'm not sure where you're going to be in terms of your goals, but I hopefully my goals will align with yours. I have copies for you. Please look at them and reflect on them because that's what I'm doing each and every day. This is my focus that's happening with this. If you have a problem with the way I'm doing my job, let's do it publicly, right? Let's do it with the goals that I've set. Not conversations that are happening on on on the soccer field, happening in schools, happening in classrooms, happening on on the email. If you have an issue with the way I'm doing work, let me know.
Um, another recommendation from the audit was an upgrade to our firewall infrastructure. Um, for those that might not know what a firewall is, it's basically what separates our internal networks from the dangers of the internet. Um, so it's super important towards our cyber security posture. Um, so we were able to replace our singular firewall with a two firewall cluster. Um, and the great thing about that is if one device goes down, another one is there to take over the load. Um, so it just ensures constant uptime, which is very important for your firewall. Um, also it's a cloud managed system, so we're able to enforce multiffactor authentication on there. So, it's removing the risk of any unauthorized access or unauthorized changes to the firewall. Um, another recommendation from our audit was to remove any outside devices from our internal Wi-Fi networks. Um, and we were able to do this with a large scale Wi-Fi upgrade to the entire building.
So, any questions for Lucas? >> Great, great, great job. Lot of activity. Thank you very much. >> Okay, next up is our business manager report, Miss Robs. >> Good evening. Uh, this evening, we're um reviewing the results and projections as of January 31st, um, 2026. Um I'm going to preach our forecast um was um while still unfavorable is more favorable than last month by about $17,000. Um and that is attributable to some changes to special education. Um the first change um to the positive was our billing to other towns where um you know we do a preliminary billing and then we do this final billing and that came in um much higher than anticipated or and budgeted. So um that resulted in a in about $35,000 um of a favorable push. And then on the other side, we received our new what they call uh the NC, which is the net current expenditure per pupil, which we received from the state.
So, thank you for that. And congratulations. Don't go anywhere because we have a picture to take. Okay, moving on to item 7.1, public comment on agenda and non-aggenda items. Hope. Do we have any blue cards? No, we have no blue cards. Moving on to item 8.1, comments, reports, and requests. >> Um, if we can ask if there's any um hands raised on Zoom. >> Oh, do we have any le Maddie? Do we have any hands raised on Zoom? >> No hands raised on Zoom. >> Thank you. Moving on to item 8.1, comments, reports, and requests by the board of education. Board vice president Rodriguez Pena. >> Yes.
Any questions on that? All good. Okay. All right. Uh I think I've I've covered most of this. This is just kind of uh more property tax calculations and how it's done. We've I think we've talked about most of this, so we'll pass on this one. And then we wanted to remind the board and the community and staff um kind of what all of the property tax rates are if you live within the boundaries of Bleridge. So, I'll just give you a reminder. This is current year. This will change coming up obviously. So the county's at 81 cents, the public health district 22, the school district 334. It's what matches our prior slide. Good there. Uh our bonds 47 cents. Our college 175. Our fire district 385. There's a statewide what they call fire district assistance tax that we all pay that goes in the coffers.
Well, when we look at the at this report, the change in student count, this is our student count. This is our weighted student count since 2022. If you go through this since 2022, we are short one student since 2022. So, we are not growing, we are not losing, we are a flat district but flat district. >> Yes. Yes. And this is what I shared with the staff in terms of a lot of the other schools have huge declining enrollment percentages and we don't our enrollment health. >> How many how many I say students have I mean I know they were pretty flat but I know that we come and go come all year long. >> I I don't think it's so much that students are are leaving and then coming back. I it's more of >> it's more of two kids withdraw one ent. >> Right.
>> I thought you were talking about more as that's how we're getting kids ready to go to ASU is the way. >> No, no. Definitely the teacher training and I will share um this is the first year we've done that. We tend to like to have three years of baseline data um to make sure that we're making a decision if we were to make a recommendation one way or the other. right now when you look at all of the other um proficiency rates up there that we've discussed tonight, I'm really proud of what our chemistry teachers are doing and I think that both of those are great numbers. I would I would like to just see what happens in the next couple of years with that. >> Well, we've we've come a long way since 2023. That's a huge jump. I was like, okay, now we need a little bar graph for all these because then you see this >> 2023.
I know that she has really done a lot of the research and I feel that sometimes the rest of you don't really listen to her um expertise on that because she knows how to do it. But I I hope that together as a board that we can come together because our district is falling apart. I used to have nine children in this school district and now I'm down to two. Um well, I'm sorry, three. There's one that's graduating this year. But there's so many kids that are leaving the district because of what is happening. So, I hope that as a district and as a board that you can really work on becoming more united instead of more divisive and try to I mean I like I said these programs tonight were wonderful but sometimes the decisions especially one that was made last year with a dress code when so many parents came out against it and you guys completely ignot ignored us and went ahead and voted to have it passed.
>> So because he didn't sign the contract we don't have to as far as processes go for us have to have him on the termination resignation list. >> That's correct. >> Okay. Um, I do want to share um, and it'll explain my vote. Um, this uh, position um, the reclassification uh, has had nothing to do with the individual. I have the utmost respect for her and the work that she's done for our district. However, that being said, I also believe that we have set the goals to be a gold standard district and I really believe in that position of the assistant superintendent for HR that we needed to that we really need to find someone that has that extensive certification, experience, leadership in HR. Um, it would be great if it was in education. um because that's the gold standard that we set. Um so that is my comment on that.
We was we was on top of things >> 3 400,000. >> Yeah, it was about 550,000 include contingencies and also architectural engineering fees. >> So it was it was low. >> It it was compared to buildings. Correct. Six of the eight. Yeah. And and let Jane and Jamie know that we had life safety issues that exceeded monetary values of $23 million at one point >> and we knocked out under Dr. Cognney's leadership to knock out these buildings and we knocked out >> a lot all of them basically. We we did a lot of work that was unprecedented >> to like you said not kick the can down the road. we address we got safe buildings and these life safety issues is coming about now. I'm glad we have the opportunity to go that route and address the issues that we need to address. >> We we were at the end of the rope with is is they were going to I don't know what they would have done but >> they it needed to be addressed.
And I read that as steak or chicken, right? You you don't do both or whatever. Like no school or makeup day. And the one conversation is like oh I read it like no there's no school or no makeup day. And I was like >> okay sorry about that. Like whatever. Friday is a makeup day. Uh, we're we're making up a school day. Um, so I will bring you guys the 26 27 because it says that same thing, but I'm going to put no school parenthesy possible snow makeup day parenthesy. It's really clear like this is a possible snow makeup day. Don't make plans. >> Yeah. Yeah. So, um, so anyways, I will uh I will have that for you um next week in our regular board meeting. Um, also just wanted to, I guess, give a a little um, brief um, update uh, from a school safety standpoint.