So, um Dr. So just asking them maybe just do a quick drive by CIP in 102 bulleted items that you know we think are important for you to just be aware of that that's sort of been a focus point for us. So you know within the CIP the first goal around achievement. So you know I just created a few slides but the first goal is around achievement and you know I think we we absolutely went over that the other day both where we are strong in and where we are progressing and and you know our action plan you know that will be a constant source of conversation for us about that to be aware. Um, you know, we work really hard in our scheduling process to ensure that students have opportunities to stretch into, um, honors courses, AC courses, um, as well as AP courses.
One in just to close, one in four students have a disability. The data says that these students are more likely to attend college, have meaningful jobs and relationships when they are included with their non-disabled peers. Will and I are beyond grateful for the love and support of a community that has provided belonging for our family. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Congratulations again to all of our parents of the year. Board vice president, I turn it over to you. Thank you. We are now um ready for board member comments. Where am I? >> I just I just want to communicate um if the microphone will allow me to just just how how grateful I am for for evenings like this to be able to see uh just the beauty of our community on display. Um, I want to want to just say congratulations and also thank you to all the parents who are are here and and being honored and recognized tonight.
We can't say exactly how many would be for fifth grade or how many students to answer your question because it's an optin thing. It's not a requirement. Um, based off of the meeting, I would say that many parents were interested in possibly sending their kids or attending themselves with their children. But until we actually get a contract, know exactly what the um financial obligation is, that's a difficult thing um to to promise. As far as how do you fund the trip? The eighth grade trip is funded through fundraisers and tax credit is a big part of that. Um we do have some tax credit left over from previous years that is there but the majority of it is earned that year. So our eighth graders have been working all year long fundraising for that trip. The remaining balances in each kiddo um if there is a remaining balance then it's the obligation of parents to fulfill that request.
They sound they did great job, but as you can see, the engineering part of it was >> not very good. And it's not >> it's been going on for a while, but I just assumed at some point we were addressing some of that, but >> we just got to talk about how everything maybe moving some of the stuff and redesigning a little bit of an area and looking at all of it. That's it. I'll be sure to I'll be sure to look into that for you. >> Um, real quick on the on your high school project, you have 1.95 million as a contingency. So, so we're on the same page, the money that we're talking about spending for the lighting in the auditorium and the scoreboard and the main gym and then even the contingency is not extra spending. It's coming out of the money that we're not spending on the original project.
Um, to me, as I've stated before, that's just another tax on just it's a tax on folks that have kids in schools. And to me, that's inappropriate. Um, so this is sort of the stabilization of our budget is what's important. There is no growth. I I I I want to I emphasize that in this slide. I'm not looking to add staff, folks, within our budget. No matter what happens with our budget, we're reducing staff by 13.2 folks, no new staff is being added. Okay, that 2.75 helps long range vision of the Ash public schools and the community. If it fails, again, uh, significant amounts of of funds need to be used for operations and salaries. And we will continually have that $300,000 deficit in athletics and try to manage that somehow. And typically that would be through other revolving accounts, maybe offset more transportation costs that that are incurred in athletics, some of the salaries, some of the other expenses through school choice.
So, uh we have two options. We could either hold a public comment on operating only or we could go through your capital do everything public comment and then we would discuss what uh what does the committee think is the best way to do it. >> Second thing do the do the capital first. >> Capital first. >> Okay. >> What does everybody else think? So, we're gonna switch back and then we'll revisit this. >> Okay. I know it's a little bit out of script right now. >> Before you move on to this, you kind of glaze over slide four of the your presentation. And so, I just want to make note like the biology teacher, the health teacher, the world language teacher, and the full-time athletic director down to a stipen. Those were all done to counteract the 18% rise in healthcare insurance. So, wanted to remind people why those cuts were made.
And I really appreciate the work of the curriculum committee this year. They listened at several meetings to some, um, opportunities to, um, think about courses for next year. And so an update on that is um last year we had talked about our EC economic course and I'm letting you know that we ran 19 students this year and we have over 20 signed up for next year that our first uh for into AP psychology. We have um over 30 students um signed up. They won't all get the course this year but um you know it'll be a solid section and worthwhile. Um and several students are in there free course as well. So it's just general progress towards that goal that I wanted to make sure that you're aware of. Uh Lucas and his um so a little bit my thunder, but I just I appreciate that that you talked about that at night about across America.
If you pay close attention, every every parent is not only celebrated and and honored, recognized for the the the work they do as a parent to their own child, but every parent is recognized for the ways that they show love and care and compassion uh for for the the broad population of of students within their their school sites. And and so just just I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful to see that on display. I'm also aware of the fact that these evenings become difficult because you you only one parent is selected per school site. Um and and there are just countless parents per school site that could be recognized. Um and so even for those parents who are not necessarily recognized tonight, I also just want to thank you for for your tireless work and effort in the ways uh that you care for for our students.
Some of our parents, even in the fifth grade, were like, "Sign us up. We'll pay for our kids trip right here on the first night." And we weren't to that point. >> Didn't we have a decline in our eighth grades this year because of that finances? >> I I wouldn't say that that there's any sign that it was the finances. We also as a school and Mr. Schubert's really good at negotiating with the companies, which we haven't even gotten to this point yet with the Boston trip. Um, usually he tries to advocate for as many possible chaperones that can go from the school that that trip is paid for as well as additional trips for students that um low income um that we can get scholarships to and assist in them attending the the trip for a lower or free um cost. But keep in mind with 8th grade, it's part of the civics club.
Correct. Um well I kind of looped it all in together with what you will see the the one coming out of it. So at the end of this presentation um we still do have a surplus that we can put to the side and continue to manage uh additional capital projects that we can't identify as life safety. >> And more or less I was just saying that so people understand that we're not spending more money than we've already borrowed. It's coming out of our existing bonds that we sold. It's coming out of part of the contingency money. >> You are correct. Yes. We're not selling any additional uh the remaining adult uh alternative revenue bonds. >> Right. >> Uh just on that note, and I know you probably told me a hundred times about the $35 million that we approved for the al alternate alternative bonds and we used we sold 30 million.
These are the 13.2 positions that are being reduced through our realignment, our restructuring. Okay. So, you can see that some of these positions are positions that were not filled that we had we carried forward. Um, it doesn't mean they're not needed positions. It just means as we evaluate all of the positions in the district, the 400 plus employees, you know, that we have positions that we haven't filled that we can pull out that we're not looking to fill. You know, Chris could certainly use more help uh in the HR uh and or in the accounting office. You know, the the fourman band that he has uh four person band is not enough for a $49 million organization. Um but you'll see we we're losing, you know, a science teacher at the high school. Does that mean we're giving up potential electives that we've worked so hard to to add back in over the years?
Go >> back to that slide for a second. >> Slide that slide for Oops. Sorry. >> Yep. Good. >> So, I just want to remind people like those were cuts that we no one wanted to make. Um, but we acknowledge that 18% medical insurance had to be counteracted. So, >> Tanto a lot harder than anybody else. >> Yeah. >> Took the words out of my mouth. Appreciate that. at Tahanto the the the changes they had to make this year the class sizes that they had to do deal with this year and some of the courses I know a conversation about AP biology came up last time right and you know Lisa and Rich are certainly getting answer but it's not being offered every year right because we weren't able to do that so those are some big cuts that you know we talk about when you make the cuts at the elementary school and someone says 33 is going to be an elementary school classroom everyone's right but they don't realize the impact that it has at the high school level and the course offerings that they can't offer offer and how it impacts all of the kids.
You know, one of the things I'm most proud about that I didn't get a chance to talk about was the partnerships and community engagement. Um you know, he mentioned just just one and he's talking about having a few more, but when we really dive in, we have students so connected with our community. um in so many ways. So we mentioned some of the volunteer organizations, KATA, uh NHS, they're constantly outsourcing themselves into the community for veterans for good causes, for blood drives. Um but I think we we've taken it to a step further through camp. Um students, you know, you know, within this camp project are selecting into supporting the community. as an example, someone I was going to mention um tonight when we have will come on April 7th. A student named Brook Robbins um created a story book around veterans in our community shared that book um at Shar CIS actually read the book to students and there were you know people we know our neighbors who are veterans and it was just a real nice connection for our community.
Um and to u Mrs. Greer want to say uh to you in particular, congratulations. I uh at at some point I I leaned over and told board member Ramos that you were my mother and that and that you were being honored and recognized because of how I turned out tonight. But uh um I I I guess what I congratulations and and and thank you for uh just being able to to see you and and the work that that you do and the ways again that you care for for um our our students and our district over the years has been absolutely incredible. And so though we are not related, I am feeling a little just that much more proud to be a Greer tonight. Um and so thank you for representing our name well. Board member Ramos. >> Yes. What a great evening. Just to kind of piggyback on what board member Gir mentioned, um it's an honor for us to be able to recognize uh all the parents um for being parents of the year for their respective schools.
there are some details to work out as far as with the Boston trip um to use the tax credit. They would have to form a club and they would have to do similar things to raise that money. One of the companies, the one that actually presented the night that I attended that meeting, they have a little bit of different strategy than what we've done for fundraising where um lots of people today just donate online. So they have a platform that's run by them that they push out and you would send a link to all your family members from wherever they are, friends and family, and then they can donate to that trip. And they claim that by using that, I want to say it was like a 72 to 80% um gets gets paid just by doing that in today's society because that seems to be how our communities like to donate to those sorts of things.
Were we ever going to go back and sell those 5 million or we lost the opportunity? No, we we haven't available available until next year. >> The opportunity is available. However, that would impact our operating expenses, which would then in turn impact our financial profile score. So, I think it'd be best, as Mr. Swallace said, not to sell any additional >> uh of the of the bonds and because that way we don't have to worry about it with a increase in our debt payment and that would then eat into our operating expense. But we got until next year to >> Yeah, I believe it's March of 2027 if we would like to. >> And I think the way it worked out with the financing that there was even >> Mr. Okisinski had mentioned that we could it was up to six or seven add like it was up a little bit more if we wanted to, but I think when we talked >> Okay.
Um, possibly. Um, our district nursing staff uh reducing the number of nurses that we have in our our district. Now, one of them is through through a retirement. [clears throat] We're just not filling it. And then we're we're looking at the rest of the nurses and how we can reallocate them across the entire district. So there's significant you know impacts for sure um with this budget. So what's unavoidable class size increases right? You don't fill a fifth grade classroom teacher through retirement class sizes are just going to go up because there's less less teachers. Now it is dependent upon obviously the enrollment of of how and how many kids are moving forward right? So we focus on that. Our principles are constantly looking at our enrollment numbers to say, okay, if you've got 200 in kindergarten and next year they go to grade one and we typically have an increase of 10 to 12 students in in grade one from the previous K, how does that impact the number of teaching staff?
Um, and the class size as well too. So, >> so do we not have AP bio bio at all or do we just not have it this year? This >> so we just I'm Tan Smith. I'm the department chair of um for uh science and tech engine. So, we do not have AP bio this year. So um we originally thought of alternating you know between a bio and anatomy. So we are offering anatomy this year and um it will depending next year it's very possible that we don't have AP bio again and it is also very possible that we may not even have anatomy again next year. So, um, so I'm here to to address what's happening to the science department. So, when it is my turn. Sure. Apparently. So, anyway, but I just thought I'd jump in and let you know. >> Appreciate it.
Um she did a wonderful job. Above that, we had several students uh like had a free theater camp for students or a sports clinic for students uh younger students. So, there's just a real nice connectivity. Um and Lucas certainly alluded that to that. You know, our our music program is is constantly supporting each other. Uh Jonathan mentioned one, but I think we all know the caroling that they they do around the holidays, just bring them together community with their voices. So, you know, that's something we continue to build upon. within all of those um opportunities there's leadership. There's students running that you know so we get another example of an outsource to the community and there's student leadership in in in those facets as well. So you know we really like that is something I don't think other people really have like it's just in our small town opportunity for these students to just be involved and bring kids along.
and not only um you know are we thankful for their commitment and dedication to their own students but also to the students in their schools and to our our district community as a whole and a special congratulations to Mrs. Greer on being uh the district parent of the year. We thank you all and um we we uh continue to uh be thankful to all the parents as board member Greer mentioned um that that participate in our schools on on a daily basis. Gracias. board member Rodianis, >> you know that saying where um it takes a village to raise a child, that that's definitely true. you know, it takes a a community and I want to I want to extend the thanks as well to each parent and not just the parent but the partners of that parent because and the families that pick up the not the slack but you know the times that they're volunteering and missing you know asendola doing the hey you're out volunteering you know somebody else is helping you so thank you thank you for that Um, congratulations on this well-deserved uh recognition as parent of the year.