Do do they have that authority now? >> It's up to us. So, they report it to us and we decide. >> And we take it seriously though. >> Well, how seriously do the notice go out to the parent that's saying three strikes, you're out. So we we we thought of our initial draft had the three strikes rule, but we didn't want to put that in because the first strike might be serious enough to remove the privileges. So this way it allows the administrators to use chapter 19 and bus privileges can be part of that also. So we don't want to be bound to where student assaults another student on the bus and that's only strike one. We wanted the flexibility for consequences to be more severe. You can state that in your in your rules. It's saying three strikes you out. However, if it's a severe one at any given time, they can they can be, you know, rid of their privileges.
When I look at critical mass needs across the district, we don't have a fully functioning multi-ter system of support for our students academically, socially or emotionally. The number of kids that need more academic support, more social emotional support, and more behavioral support is increasing exponentially. When I talk to teachers, that is something that every teacher is asking for. So to me, we can't do everything at one time. We have to look at what are the discretionary versus non-discretionary discretionary things, reoccurring, non-reoccurring things that we can do. My professional opinion in this situation is very simple. I believe that right now a critical need is building a multi-ter system of support for our students and having the the people there to provide the intervention because Whether or not you have 20 students in a in a class or 18 students in a class is not going to change the number of kids who need academic intervention.
She's unable to be here tonight, unfortunately, but I do know her soaring eagle pretty well. So, I'm going to read Miss Adair's speech and then Natalie, if you'd like to come up. >> [applause] >> Wow. So, these are these are Miss Adaire's words, okay? My Soaring Eagle is Natalie Fiorelli. Natalie's journey is a story of resilience, courage, and determination. From an early age, she faced obstacles that could have easily limited her dreams. Instead of letting those challenges define her, she chose to rise above them. Watching her grow through adversity has been truly inspiring. Natalie has dealt with personal struggles, academic pressures, and moments of uncertainty that would have overwhelmed many people. Through it all, she showed a kind of strength that can't be taught. She learned how to speak up for herself, push past expectations, and keep going even when progress felt slow. Over the past few years, she has become much more proactive, asking for help when she needs it and taking on new challenges.
uh those will be shut off uh the 24th of April and then we hope Monday the 26th uh we will start removing insulation in those in those areas. All that is controlled air. It's all in the tunnels. None of it is above above ground. So no risk there. Um so that's that's that. Uh Katherine mentioned that her and I have talked a lot lately in the mornings um with snow and whatnot. Um, you know, I appreciate the the the support of her. Uh, Heather McKinley, uh, getting up early, driving. Um, you have Catastaster's out here on Sunday, you're out here on Saturday. So, um, this place never sleeps. Uh, and and we have good people around to make sure that that it's well taken care of. And the same thing is going to hold the true throughout the summer. Uh, we'll come up with a plan um hopefully by the 15th of next month on what it looks like on water shutdown at the high school.
Uh it's been a new position for me in the house. Uh it's one of those chair positions where my committee reviews probably well definitely more bills than most committees maybe top three or four committees uh nearly 400 bills at this point. uh bills ranging from the town of Nic changing their charter to dog kennel space uh to local zoning. Uh so it has been an eye-opening experience for me uh an opportunity to connect with colleagues and other municipal leaders. Uh but remembering always to keep Ashland uh at the top of my mind. Uh the big bill that my committee has been reviewing this year that we moved out of committee uh a month or so ago now is the Governor's Municipal Empowerment Act. Uh not a household name. doesn't roll off the tongue. Uh but those who were involved in municipal government have have heard it at at meetings uh and and whispered, I'm sure, at MMA events.
Your silence spoke volumes, and it was a betrayal of the people who keep our schools running. Regarding the future of our district, let me be clear. We don't support the combining of schools. This solution ignores the fact that our current infrastructure is failing. The recent disaster regarding the football coach is just one of many issues you have caused through mismanagement. Currently, we have a sitin principal and a volleyball program left waiting around for basic leadership and as that young gentleman said, a football team that's waiting, too. Finally, a specific question for Mr. Gibson. Why is there at least one board member currently holding a seat who may or may not live in this district? It's been publicly identified and that's an issue yet I see no action being taken to rectify it. It is a blatant discrepancy and it shows staggering lack of accountability. Why has no vote been taken to fix this?
So again, you know, you guys are educators. You folks are smart. You're supposed to be able to think these things through. Or if you're not, then put it on chat GPT. They'll they'll spell it out for you. >> Thank you. >> No, it's not funny. I mean, I serious. You said you're serious about it, but it doesn't seem like it because you guys are not proactive. We shouldn't have to make deals like this. I mean, >> I'm sorry. Go ahead. >> Yeah. How many um privileges have you guys revoked because of bad behavior? You know, >> we can get back to you on that. >> Okay. Question. So I I think you know the the hopefully we can try and figure out some solution because as I told you before what what I'm worried about and I think why the impetus of this bill is not from year to year.
Making sure you are fully staffed from an intervention standpoint to actually provide those intervention is what is going to do that. So I am looking at class size. I am looking at class size not home size. I am looking at class size academic discipline size and it is different than size. So when those numbers right exceed what I believe to be effective and efficient we will certainly look to deploy capital if the need arises. >> Do you mind that number? >> Sure. So I can tell you that current the average home room size in grades K to five is 23 students. The average class size in language arts K to 5 is 21 students. The average class size in math K to 5 is 21 students. So those are the the actual numbers in those academic disciplines. The home room size may be larger, but all of those students are not staying in those classes for that entire day.
And then, actively shaping her own future. She's willing to try just about anything, even if it means growing or improving. She doesn't back down from hard work. That openness has helped her discover strengths and confidence she might not known she had. What makes Natalie's accomplishments so meaningful isn't just when she what she's achieved, but how she's achieved it. She's built independence and trust in her own judgment. She set goals that once seemed out of reach and chased them with focus and determination. She exceeds expectations, not by luck, but through steady effort, courage, and a willingness to step up when it matters. Her acceptance into Lewis and Clark College is more than just an academic achievement. It's a symbol of how far she's come. It reflects years of hard work, self-belief, and persistence. Natalie's story is still unfolding, but she has already proven she can overcome challenges, achieve her goals, and continue to soar.
So, we know that at least part of high school is going to be not usable. We won't have domestic water in it. No, somebody going in and using a restroom that has water, obviously. Um, so we're trying to figure out a way to keep that back end open. Um, we know the cleat houses is going to have water, so that's that's a good. Uh, so we'll have a schedule hopefully put together here by the end of next month so coaches know, hey, we can use this facility or we can't use this facility. So, uh, that's what we'll do moving forward. As a reminder, uh tomorrow night, um I'm going to be heading out on vacation for a week. Uh you can get a hold of me on my cell phone if you need to do so. Um but I cherish these moments because I have one kid really left now that that goes on vacation with us.
Uh this is a bill the governor has filed a couple sessions now. Uh it it involves everything from how to further regulate and discourage double utility polls, something I know some lots of folks in that room are very familiar with. Uh helping school districts who want to bring uh busing inhouse, trying to remove some of the arbitrary state laws that prevent that. uh elevating some of the or clarifying some of the procurement laws so that municipalities and schools have equal opportunities to uh procure materials they need without unnecessary uh restrictions uh that that slow and prevent progress. Uh one of the things we definitely are pushing for and I included in the bill out of committee was making the current hybrid uh participation rules permanent. Uh I get I got out of committee. I I I prioritized it. It still needs to pass the full House and the Senate.
And doesn't that make the vote for a head coach uh invalid or any other vote in that case? We're no longer asking for transparency. We're demanding that this community deserves a board that follows the law and puts students above personal agendas. >> First of all, Miss Adams, I find it very disrespectful that you haven't once stared at anyone. THANK YOU. AS A PARENT WHO IS deeply concerned about the recent decision not to hire a highly qualified football coach based on personal beliefs rather than professional ability decisions like this should always come back to one central question. Is this truly in the best interest of our students? Right now the message that is being sent to families is troubling. When a clearly qualified coach is passed over for reasons unrelated to their ability to lead, teach, protect our kids, as you still continue to look at your All right.
Yes, we we do know that, you know, bus service has gotten better, but what's going to happen is when you go and renew these contracts, that's when you're going to have problems again because what the bus companies do is if they lose that contract, they're just going to hold the drivers and then you're going to have an inherent shortage and then we're going to end up what we h what happened a couple years ago, right? And so if you're not proactively trying to figure out what you're going to do upon the renewal, that worries me, right? And so I think what we're asking for is what tools do you need? Obviously, I think SPO is essentially saying you don't need anything. But, you know, I think I think the the point here of this bill is what are we proactively trying to figure out so that you are clearly given everything that you need to do what you need to do so we don't end up how we ended up a couple years ago where we had these mass cancellation of bus routes, right?
So that's current. And then looking at projected year outside of kindergarten, first grade is second, second grade is third, third grade is fourth, fourth grade is fifth. So I know that those numbers will continue and I know what the registrations look like past years and what the registrations look like this year. So that is what is going into the decision. And it's not easy. But if if I add teachers with no support, I still have a whole bunch of kids that don't get service. They may have smaller class size, but they don't get any intervention. And that to me would be detrimental to their opportunity for success. I think the first thing that we need to do is have a multi-tered system of support for our students. It has to be appropriately staffed. It has to be appropriately managed. It has to be appropriately. We are not in a position right now to do that.
Congratulations, Natalie. >> [applause] [applause] >> Good evening, everyone. Short people problems here. Um It is truly my honor to present my Soaring Eagle Award to a student who represents exactly what this award is meant to celebrate, Cynthia Mundon. Come on down. >> [applause] >> Cynthia is one of the sweetest souls you could ever hope to meet. She comes to school each day with a positive attitude, a kind heart, and a determination to do her very best. Learning Learning math doesn't always come easy to everyone, but what makes Cynthia so special is the way she approaches challenges. She works incredibly hard to understand new concepts and never gives up when something is difficult. Her persistence and dedication are a wonderful example of true effort and growth. Beyond her work ethic, Cynthia is someone who quietly makes the classroom a better place. She stays focused, works diligently, and is always productive.
So, um we'll we'll head south and try to get a little warmth here in the next week or so with our one that's left at home. So, appreciate everything you guys do. Uh, that's all I have for you. >> Okay. Thank you. The principal, >> Mr. Um, just to echo what uh Mr. Turnigan had shared that huge thank you to all of our teachers for working so hard um in our schools getting ready coming up to this time for spring break. It's a time when kids really like to challenge everything and so it's really um an interesting time period but they have done a fantastic job. Um we have some exciting things happening and tomorrow is one of them that we have our STEM fair for our fourth graders. They've been working so hard in science and incorporating STEM um into their science program that they have a STEM fair tomorrow afternoon um from 2 to 3 in our gym.
Uh but I've heard from all of you well on a very regular basis. Uh how discouraging or or concerning it is to have a policy that expires every couple years, often notified often days or sometimes hours uh within the deadline that you can continue to have hybrid meetings. Uh it'd be great if we could make that permanent. And so I I prioritize that in that in that bill. we moved out of committee. So, uh, if any of those topics interest you, uh, happy to talk at length because that bill has been a big part of my life over the last nine months. If your eyes have glazed over, uh, no worries that most people's have, uh, and I'll I'll pivot to to something else. Uh, on the House side, I I know I'm confident that we're going to be taking up uh, some immigration reforms as well.
Uh, it raises serious questions about priorities. Our students deserve the best leadership available, especially in athletics where mentorship, discipline, and safety matter every single day. And the impact of this decision goes far beyond just a coach for one team. Families are already talking about leading your district, Stacy Adams. And these are not only athletes. We're talking about strong academic students as well. When families start looking elsewhere, the district doesn't just lose players on a field. It loses scholars in a classroom, leaders in clubs, and members of our community. that you represent. Speaking personally, I have four athletic boys in this district. If families like mine decide to leave because we no longer feel the district is making student centered decisions, that's four more students gone. Multiply that by family other families who are feeling the same way and consequences become very real. The other serious issue is that must be considered is student safety.
And I think it's just persistently happened. And yes, we can blame the the driver shortage, but I know for a fact because when we had a driver shortage on Maui, I called the other bus company and they had the capacity, right? And so I think we gota we gotta we got to think thoroughly and if if you can do it internally fine but you got to show us that you're going to do it internally or else you're just going to keep you know being bills right? So anyway um hopefully you guys can we can come up with something or you can think I've been asking you think about what you need and I haven't heard clearly what you guys need. So um I think we're going to keep going at it though because I think you guys need more like I think we have to keep this as an issue because I think people are saying this is an issue.
But we will that was your time a few minutes ago, but I would encourage you to if you have more questions um Dr. So please if there's dialogue, please continue. Thank you very much. on the list. See, I will move on to court comment and open the floor to any >> I just have two quick things. First and foremost, obviously, it is very easy, well, it is much easier in a year where they're not taking the money away to make to do a budget. Um, but I have to say, you know, this is our first budget under Dr. Afill and I felt uh he deserved um thank you for at least I I'm not speaking for the whole board, but I I kind of think I am uh the communication that we received this year, the feedback that you brought to the table, not just his own opinion, but of other admin, of other staff.