>> Good evening. Thank you for a wonderful meeting. uh Claudia Ritzio teaching math at the high school and some of the junior high school uh students right now. I just want to say every single day being part of Bluridge makes me get on campus. I want to give out a big thank you to the entire Blueridge community for making every single day a special day to come in and do my job. >> That's it. >> Boy, that that made me want to come back. >> We'll sit through all the bad stuff. Yeah, thank you very much. Greatly appreciated and this community deserves that kind of praise. So, thank you. >> Dave, can I just I I just was, you know, after hearing all of our doom and gloom on our facilities, um I I'm worried um about our bond and our override because they haven't passed in the last few years.
And so I just want to encourage parents and teachers um board members to get out and just make it known the needs um and with the with the understanding and maybe I don't want to say the promise but the but that we're going to try really hard to spend our communities money well. Um I think Courtney's done a great job of helping um rebuild some of that trust in that in that area. Um but I'm just worried that we're not going to >> that it's not going to happen. >> Yeah. And if it doesn't happen, we are in trouble of yeah trouble. >> Um so I I just >> I just want to press impress, you know, the the seriousness of it and and the importance of it. Um so yeah, >> come on up. >> Tell us who you are. >> Use a mic.
These ears are big, but they don't hear very good anymore. >> I'm Britney Hamlin. Um, I've said this a few times, but I'm excited too as well as about just it was big changes. It could have been scary changes and instead it's been very positive and optimistic and encouraging. Um, as a coach, a mom, a community member with Mike and all of you guys. And I think what will go a long way with the community members and the bond and I've talked to Mr. Rolloff and Courtney a little bit about this is I think that we need to build some trust there. And I think the only way to do that is you've got to get into discussions with community members and actually make them feel like their voices are heard because for a long time it's kind of felt like give us your money and shut up.
We know what's best. I don't want to be mean, but that's that's the feedback. And so I think if community members really feel like this has become a community of like a three-way, us, the administrators, and our kids, and we're all working toward a common goal, and we're able to find solutions we all feel great about, I think they'll give you your money, their money all day long. It's just feeling that they're in partnership with you other than kind of this outside outside source that we go and get money from. So just my two cents. >> Hey, can I ask you a question? >> Yes. Do you have a solution? I mean, can you because I listen to you speak and you're very eloquent as a community member. >> What could we do? I mean, I I'll wear a shirt. I'll carry a sign. I can stop people.
I'm not shy. >> Okay. >> But what what would you really want to hear me say, >> you know, as a as somebody that's out there? Yeah. >> What would be something that would be impactful? Not just, yeah, here they go again. Flap your >> thumbs. So, I don't want to be redundant because I know I brought this up in our superintendent advisory committee and I'm grateful that you asked me to be on it, but so there's a lot of information out there and a lot of community members go out and do their own information and then I'm not great at then giving that information to my schoolboard members. So, I need to do a better job with that because I think that you can better represent not just community members, but me, I guess personally, but it seems to be kind of a general consensus.
Uh, so we look at the auditor general's report. So I was so grateful that Mike brought up the computers because after we passed the last bond, we were actually told we would never have to pass another bond, that this would be it. And then once the bond was passed, we were told, "Oh, the bid we got for the elementary school was significantly less than the original bid, so we're going to save all of this money." and it was going to go into these facilities that were now saying, "Well, the 30-year-old HVAC system didn't get the bond dollars from 10 years ago." And I get that we've admitted some mistakes down the road of buying the buses all at the same time and different things like that. But in 2017, that auditor general's report came out from the 2016 bond and our cost per pupil went up $4,000.
And at the time, we had over 2,000 kids enrolled at Blige. That was an eight half million dollar increase. Um, and where is that being applied to? Was it maintenance and operating costs? Because bond dollars are books, books, buses, and buildings. Um, I think it was in 2024 we because we had u I think it was Misha Misha Steinreer, but she talked about do we are we going to have any capital that we're going to put money away after this next bond so that when these things come up, we can cover them. And so I did a little bit of research. We had actually taken from our capital 850 grand and put it over in our maintenance and operating costs. So, we're not allowing ourselves to get ahead to improve these buildings, to improve equipment because we're having to rob Peter to pay Paul because these huge M costs and a lot of it has got to be these onetoone computers, the extra bandwidth, the servers, and it's not working and it's not benefiting our kids education.
So, I love that Mike did his research and kind of gave us that feedback. I do think our teachers need it. Obviously, we need the computers. We Mossboss is a wonderful class for my kids. I'm actually a dinosaur. I don't even give my kids cell phones till Christmas of their senior year. So, I'm very like trying to keep my kids growing up the way that I grew up. And I get that they need to understand the world they live in. They need to understand technology. It is the world we live in. But I do think putting that money back into our classrooms is the best thing that we can do for them. And in 2009, 64% of our budget was going to the classroom. Well, now 53% of our budget goes to the classroom. So, it's hard for community members to say, "Here, have more money, but you're not putting our money where we want it as parents, which is to our kids education." And so, I do think that there's solutions.
Um, sorry, I have a really dry mouth right now, but I wasn't prepared to say this, but I do think that there's a lot of solutions. I just think it's getting in a room, and I loved your email today. Let's get in the weeds. let's talk about it and then let's come up with solutions because I think you have very intelligent community members that want to provide solutions not just complain. So thank you. >> Thank you Britney. I think as far as our direction is we can direct the staff here to do something more to get information out the community. Maybe some flyers or something like that with with uh with real information instead of hearsay information or false information. I think uh I think that's appropriate and I and I think we have committed to have open public meetings at least once a month until this decision is made and like we did at the beginning of this board meeting.
We have that so there's that input from the community hopefully get more people to come to the board meetings. You know some nights it's like you can hear a pin drop in here because there's nobody here and we have to wake up a couple of people by the time it's over. So yeah that those are some great things. I think next week we are going to the uh city council with a presentation on the board. So encourage people to watch that on uh YouTube or attend that city council meeting because they'll get great information like that. I think uh I think the the last bond we had kind of bought out an override. Didn't we have an override then the bond or we had the bond then the override? >> Yeah. Yeah. And then so we were able to put money in right front and then that bond started uh sunsetting it.
We lost a third of that for three years and so we didn't have that kind of money to after and that just sunseted what this year. This was the last year we were able to use some of that money or we don't have it anymore this year. So that that that has something to do with what we did. I think the last bond we had we did the junior high with pretty we bought buses and did the junior high and remodeled some of the the gymnasium. So we and just hope that we could kick the can down the road a little bit farther and get some more money in the future or hope the state would change so that we get some more money in the future. So yeah, I don't think I think bonding is the way the uh state legislature wants us to go approached to the community and say, "Hey community, if you want your schools to have more money, you're going to have to get it from them individually because we're not going to give it to you on a statewide basis." And that's pretty much what they've done to us.
So, if there's nobody else that would like to address the board, call to the public right now, then we'll uh kind of instruct the staff to do more to get public information out maybe uh through PTO. You know, I don't Your ideas are good ideas. My ideas aren't any good. >> Yeah, I think the next thing we'd like to do is maybe do a town hall meeting. And just to remind you, um I'm at a training in April and Courtney's going to run the board meeting. So, we'd like to do is maybe a town hall meeting um the week following the board meeting and uh make it open to the community and lay all our cards out and in in an effort to be transparent and open up those communication streams and if we're not voting on anything, then we can um just have open dialogue with everybody.
So, we'll work we'll work on a date and time that'll work best for everybody. We won't do four o'clock again. So, >> yeah, later in the day. Uh, and also I think if we had refreshments, if we knew, if everybody knew we were going to have refreshments where it'd be kind of laid-back and, you know, uh, white cookies and red punch, maybe everybody would come and more people would come. So, >> yeah. So, you know, I think that food always brings more people out. Wouldn't it have been nice if we'd have been had a little forthought and these fundraisers that we had for sports teams if we could have had some information out then you know because we had quite a few people come to those things you know that would work. So next time let's piggyback on that perhaps that might help. So if there's nothing further we just I need to announce that our next board meeting will be April 14th.
Time hasn't been determined yet but it'll be April 14th. We might start it a little earlier so we can have longer discussion or we might start later and have more discussion at the end. So get ready for that. And we'll have a town hall too. And also um when is the city board meeting? When are we supposed to be at that? >> This next Thursday. >> Um second. >> Second Thursday. >> Well, yeah. There will be a representation from the board and the school. What date is it? >> The first week of April, I believe. Do we have anybody? >> Yeah, in in April, not this month. >> I think it was the second that >> I can't remember. I think it is the second at 7 o'clock. And we're on their agenda to pass on information about the board uh bond. You know, we might want to state a quorum.
Post it >> just in case everybody shows up. All right. So, we've announced next item is a motion to adjurnn. >> A motion to adjurnn. >> We have a second to that motion. Have a second from Bridget. All in favor say I.
Good afternoon and welcome uh to the Senate Committee on Education. Today is Wednesday, March 18th. are meeting in this room tonight and we're being streamed live on YouTube and we must end this hearing in the technical issues committee will reconvene on Friday March 20th at 1 p.m. in the same room to tonight and notice will be posted for the legislator's website. Due to the number of measures before the committee and our time limit testifiers testimony, we're limited to one minute for testifier. And with that, we will begin with our first measure on the agenda. And I just like to say that this is all house bills that have transferred over. The Senate has had those that were similar or might have been a companion. And if we have, if you're able to, you can tell us what the difference might be. That would also move forward.
everyone and thank you all for being here tonight. Um we have um well I'll say an encouraging presentation for you tonight on the budget. So I want to thank you all for being here. I'll say thanks for after but um yeah we're glad to see you all tonight. I'm excited to have you here. Thank you for being here. We did open an executive session um to review beforehand. Um, so that being said, we will start off a student representative.
not of this education and the day time and similar not have been website and the here All right. I have some for our Ja. David. Yes. Yes. Okay. You have a very tonight for our world basketball champion. So we are very pleased this evening to celebrate the championship for our girls basketall team. They won the M le and did a fantastic job this season. It was such a pleasure to see them play. We are also proud of you. We recognize how much work goes into working together as a team. And I always say you know through your experience in athletics, you learn so many life lessons. You learn how to work together. You learn how to take criticism and build on that. You learn how to reflect on both your wins and your losses. And you know, it was great to see you always be so gracious of the time you always wanted.
Good evening. My name's Brian Reese, principal of Columbia High School. It's my pleasure to welcome you all to the 13th annual Soaring Eagle Awards Night. This award was created to allow each faculty member a chance to recognize a student of their choosing for their reason. It's not based on grades. It's based on character, leadership, dedication, hard work, overcoming adversity, or commitment to learning. Whatever that teacher chose to recognize. What I love is that none of you know who selected who was selected by whom. Students, each teacher will read about the student he or she has selected, so listen carefully to see if you can hear a description of yourself. Once you hear your name, come on up, receive your medallion, and then you'll go out to the cafeteria for a quick picture. Every family will receive a copy of the speech and a copy of the picture in the in the coming next couple weeks.