Um, they understand that that is what's best for their learning and again what those like small decisions are what makes them successful. Um, and I think that that knowledge as well as just having teachers having the materials to kind of like enforce those rules has truly I personally think has truly helped um, keep students motivated and overall throughout the whole year, focus on those goals. >> Cool. Great. Great.
Thank you, Mr. Nowlin and Mr. Major. Yeah, redevelopment met. Uh they talked about their annual report that was submitted to the city council. They also talked about a grant that was for the animal care services building. I mentioned that before. Um but this was they're actually coming in with the plan now. Uh there was a liquor license for Forge on Fourth and ribbon cuttings for Arcadia Drive on May 20th and the riverfront for October 23rd. There was no new news from the Health Trust. Riverfront on October? Yep. Um Ms. Wheeldon. Uh the Diversity Council met on February 18th. Um there were several topics of conversation covered. One of them was just reviewing the student actions um around the country on ICE and trying to think through and understand if if something like that were to happen here, what would the response be and and just familiarizing ourselves with with what students are doing across the country.
Uh so that that did stand out as as pretty strong support compared to the trends we've been seeing this school year. Will not go out on a limb there and make an assumption that because we're renewing or proposing renewing uh funding for existing um programs that have been proven to show results, great teachers and staff, safe schools, I think that's different than maybe some of the other communities that are more unknown like we were back in 2019 and 20, uh you know, how effective would this investment be? I I was going to ask um in the different groups, I think uh non-parents, non-staff, Yeah. there was about a 14% undecided response. Uh how how does that compare to other surveys that you've done? Is that high? Is that low? And then how does that undecided group get fit into the 63.3 prediction? Great questions. Um so the first thing I would say, um I'll jump back to that slide here just so you can see.
So, we'll have a decision to make. And that one starts July 1st. So, we will be busy this summer. Um, as will all schools trying to figure that out. There are exceptions to this one, which is if you have a variety of special needs and when they sort of start listing them, they're like, "Oh, there are a lot of special needs." Um, it could be you can use it for translation. Um, you can do it for health related items. If you've got a doctor's note, you might have amplification due to a hearing um disability, you can use it to record notes or any other um special needs that are in your 504, your IEP. So, there are a number of exceptions there that we'll have to also evaluate and keep in the policy. Um, one of the good parts is the Department of Education is going to be providing guidance on how we're going to write this policy and how we're going to implement it.
>> Great. >> Thank you. >> If you guys got to get out of here, you're more than welcome to. Thank you for coming tonight. >> Thank you. Thanks. >> All right. Eight, public comments. There's no public comments tonight on anything on the agenda. So, we'll go to number nine. uh personnel report, A, resignations, uh B, retirements, C extracurricular appointments, and D transfer. The superintendent recommends the board approve items A, B, C, and D. >> Motion. >> Thank you. >> Second, >> you know, we had uh Miss Sullivan in here what, July or January, right? The first meeting in January. Um it was really nice to have that that time with her um and tell tell her thank you for all the time she has um committed to Knox Community Schools. Um we're not really ready to talk about Miss Shyer's retirement yet. Um but we did want to get it on the agenda.
Um we provided you the release tracking number and the link so you could go through and see the full history. All these documents are publicly available. If there are specific ones you'd like us to submit on the record, we're happy to do so after the hearing um before the next hearing. And um so that that current the January 2026 report we provided is valid and is the most current for the site. >> Okay. Okay. Do you want to clarify that, Becca, because that's inconsistent with the email that we got from D? >> Uh through the commission, uh an email received by the conservation department from D on February 13, 2026 states, "Since RAM activities were not initiated within a one-year period, the RAM plan is no longer considered valid and needs to be closed. We expect that a new RAM plan proposing the same activities uh will be submitted in the future.
Kylie, would you take a motion that says we support the num, you know, the information that you provided to us with regards to the budget at our uh February me last February 5th meeting? >> Yeah, February 9th, I think. >> February 9th, I'm sorry. >> Is it even needed? The fact that we're all >> Yeah, I don't think it is. >> I think of the support. Yeah, it's that's great. Yeah. >> Um I I don't >> I don't know. I I know you you know you can't you shouldn't approve this budget. >> No, we're not not approving >> as much as that would make my day >> supporting you um >> moving forward. >> Yeah. And just you know based on key budget factors that you presented at our last meeting >> like >> just basic things have gone up things that we haven't increased our spending in five years six years >> like we are getting around to increasing them to reflect reality >> um that they've been underfunded for six years.
>> Any questions on that stuff? Okay, the next item which um we you know we're taking a look at is uh this is our policy on suicide prevention and intervention. Um if you recall this, this was last reviewed in 1996. It was initially adopted and uh the revision for this came out of conversation that I had with u both Robin and Carrie and our attorneys that we use uh and we thought that it was important to update it to to have a contemporary policy on the matter. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm looking at the policy and you're not. I just realized I was sharing in the Oh, the screen. And really what this does is um direct staff and inform the community about when a student uh has significant has made significant threats to self or others. We move through the process of evaluating students uh and their threats to self and we can make uh triage decisions to determine whether or not the student needs more substantial evaluation or not.
>> Well, good evening everyone. As always, Roina always covers everything and leaves me with so much to talk about. Um but other than that, this week has been super fun and these this shows as such a pivotal week. Um and even next week are such pivotal weeks in the school years um for all students whether that be grades, activities and spring sports are starting. So Romina said that spring sports are starting like softball, soccer, baseball, and volleyball. Um and there's a lot of excitement in the building. Triyouts are happening. I know we have volleyball triyouts next week. Um we had baseball and soccer triyouts this morning. So everyone's super excited about that. This Thursday we're taking 50 students to the DECA state competition. Um which is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Super exciting. This is the biggest year yet where we've been able to take 50 different students.
Um and then the second topic was reviewing the graduation rate data that we all got to see um earlier this year. Um the Diversity Council includes a very broad cross-section of people in the community um and just getting their input on how we're performing, feedback, etc. Thank you, Ms. Wheeldon. Uh Dr. Phillips, you've got two items under cabinet reports this evening. Thank you, Mr. Stinner. The first item is just a very brief review of the operating referendum survey results. Uh the board held a work session at 5:00 p.m. this evening. Lasted about 35 minutes. Some of you in the room were there for that. Uh the brief summary of that is we had about 4,500 respondents. Um the rough estimates based on the company that administered the survey and uh tabulated the results for us is there's approximately 63 .3% um positive support for renewing the operating referendum at an average of $9.5 million per year, which is about a million dollars less than what we collected this year.
Um 14% I would say is about average, maybe a touch low. I'm not surprised if you see that even into the high teens or 20s, um because school finance is really complicated. Um and so a lot of times people just aren't sure, but I think 14% uh is right at the lower end of what we tend to see on these for that group. Um as far as how they're a part of the weighted calculation, so if you jump back about 7 8 years, uh 2018 2019, about a third of undecideds tended to break toward uh a yes vote. And so, you know, when we would look at our data for support and then we'd look at an ultimate outcome, it was about a third that would trend in that direction. Since 2020, that has gotten to a tenth or less of undecideds trending toward yes between the survey and election day.
So, that's going to be good. It also um I don't know if this was in the first bill or not, but I'm I'm glad to see it. It says schools and staff are shielded from civil liability if we are uh trying to enforce the ban in good faith. So, if we are doing all the things our policy says we're supposed to do and we're trying to enforce it and yet something happens, um we will hopefully won't be held liable. So, that is really good because that I can see that with the number of devices we're supposed to be monitoring if something were to happen. Um and applies to public schools and charter schools but does not apply to private schools. Um and until Jan uh until July 1st of n July 1st of 2028 uh schools can allow certain instructional devices that are school provided or school sanctioned but after July of 2028 it will be restricted to um instruct ones that you know the Chromebooks or the iPads that we give the students and they have to be on the school network where we can then control what they can see and hear on the on the So and that'll be school supply devices.
We will definitely have have her time here with us. That's that's our personnel. >> Any comments questions? All in favor? Opposed? And business. Uh A, treasures report. The corporation treasurer has provided a report on page 15. Uh B, vendage vendor usage report. The corporation treasurer has provided a vendor usage report on page 34. Uh C, claims. The superintendent recommends the board approve the claims as listed on page 36. A motion. Thanks again. >> Secondary second. >> Casey, you have anything to add? >> Stand it. >> Okay. Uh, all in favor? >> Post. >> Uh, D construction update. Superintendent will update the board on the upcoming construction projects. >> Yeah. So, middle school, right? All those vertical units um with with site site logic who made that presentation to LA last time about the program that they have to keep all of our buildings updated. Um but right now we're having a meeting every week uh over spring break here.
>> So, all right. Yeah. So, so that's D's indicated to the LSP that because it's more than a year away, they have to resubmit and D will review it again. Um they don't anticipate much changing on D's end, but yes, we will need to resport submit as we get closer to earthwork. Um the intent is not to do it now because we're more than a year away. we would have to do it again. And the January 2026 contains all the information that D and the commission would need to review the site for critical uh for um redevelopment of the site. So um and again we're happy the LSP is planning to attend um one of the the night that first topic of discussion for the contaminants so he can answer all the questions and address your in more detail. We can discuss it then. >> Okay.
Um I I don't know. The schools are um a pride of Dartmouth >> and if we don't fund the schools, >> they will not be anyway. Yes, Chris. >> Mr. Kylie, do you know off the top of your head if you have the information um available what the town has given us historically over the past three years? Well, I mean, last year was 4.3%. >> Okay. >> Um, >> I can I can dig up the previous two, but >> I'm just curious, >> right? >> And I know that's going to vary from year to year based upon revenue. >> Mhm. I can answer other questions while I while I do this if there are any. >> I don't I don't have anything else. I was just curious. And if you don't have it, that's fine. I can look it up. >> Just take me a few minutes.
Um what this policy does is provide structure to that process about the referral um and how then the student must be evaluated. So we have a a full document uh about managing threats against self and others um that's available to our our faculty. Um really it's our PPS staff that navigate that. Jeeoff, this seems like a an appropriate forum to touch on something I talked to you after our last reading of these uh because if I'm reading this right with the strikethroughs below, uh the the board wasn't mentioned in the previous version of this other than recognizing the risk and >> yeah, >> you know, counseling and referring personnel. Um, and then that paragraph about any board employee. Um, are I I should probably know the answer to this, but are we we're not mandated reporters in the way that teachers are when they're at school, right?
I mean, and they're ranging not just they're not just seniors and juniors, they're freshman, sophomores um in all four grades. And that's something really cool to see. Um, going back a little bit, I love seeing that we're representing some of the newer clubs and seeing that our administration and principles are investing in those student ideas and hearing out what students want to learn from and the things that they want to be involved in. I think it's so cool that they have the opportunity to start their own clubs and find their own um sponsor. Other than that, going back to the phone policy, um, phones, we have not been using the pouches. I know me and Roina have definitely talked about um what it's like in that implementation in the classroom and from my perspective mostly the phones have stayed away and that self-regulation piece is the most important part.
Uh and then really not any consensus around any of the three um additional investment items that were included on the survey as we asked the community if they wanted to invest additional dollars in any of the additional areas including STEM, safety and security, and early childhood education. And you can see there that uh the there was no majority uh support for any dollar amount $1 million to $4 million on the screen. And then the summary is that um there's certainly enough support. The company that administered the survey stated that with the one other exception, all the other surveys they've been doing for school districts with this same topic had been around uh 50/50 um in in responses for support as well as uh on 50% supportive and 50% probably not supportive. And so the 63% says that yes, overwhelmingly a little bit more than what uh the referendum passed by in 2020, folks still say that's the case today.
So we actually don't include them in here, which means they are uh in effect included as no's because the data has just shown that those undecided folks really overwhelmingly break toward no. And is there any indication in the survey as to what uh what might help them reach a decision? We did um I believe we had an open-ended question. We haven't done a full comment analysis or anything like that to this point, um but I believe we had a question on there asking uh you know, if you wouldn't support this, uh why not or what are the main reasons. Um Ultimately, you know, the trends we see, I would say, are it it often just comes down to cost right now. Anybody else? Other questions? I've got a couple and maybe there'll be some follow-ups, but can you tell us how many of the respondents, because at least unbeknownst to me prior following our last meeting, there were several modalities to respond to this uh survey.
So we have initial two years in order to get to that point. So so that has a lot of pieces to it but I I do think the way it ended up it was something that was possible for us to do. So uh and again the idea of course is that that both of those are about the addictive nature of books and the disruption that they cause. So um the hope is that um you know teachers don't have to spend their time trying to monitor that all the time. Um they can spend more instructional. Um, another bill we talked about was 1423, which is the Indianapolis Public Ed Corporation. Um, this is the Indianapolis public schools that are now um going to have nine members that are appointed by the mayor and those people will be in addition to the elected school board, but these will be appointed and they will oversee in a united system on transportation, facilities, and academic accountability.