He took ownership of the situation in a quiet and respectful way, never drawing attention to himself, and never seeking recognition. What made that moment so meaningful was this was not something that was assigned him. Nobody told him to step in. He simply recognized that there was a need, and he took action to help. That level of awareness, compassion, and initiative is rare in someone his age. It's more than just handing out water. It's leadership through service. It showed maturity, empathy, and genuine concern for others. This moment stands out to me because it reflects the young man Connor has grown into. Someone who looks beyond himself, takes responsibility, and steps forward while others might sit and wait. Connor's involvement with the Columbia Fire Department has further shaped his sense of responsibility and commitment to serving others. Through that experience, he's embraced teamwork, accountability, and dedication to his community.
It's really been the difference between one word actually. And I remember Lori, you and I were reminiscing about this a bit um when I first got here and kind of coming here and and I remember Brook Clinchie was the um superintendent for like a hot minute and um I remember coming in and there was a big battle going on over $70,000 and what that was going to get spent on. Do you remember this? it was school libraries opening them back up and and I even forgot what was on the municipal side but there was so much energy and uh passion around it and I remember thinking you know the difference is is that we're talking about or we're either going to fund this or this and why don't we change the conversation and start changing the word or to and and and if if there's a way we can put the same energy into doing both things Um, hey, we're spending just as much energy fighting.
Not are you going to seed to judgment around playing time. 90% of all problems that we deal with as coaches and everybody hears this is year round playing time. It is and it's a tough thing. And as a parent who has a daughter who's playing at Fed River College and sat for the better part of this last year in the state championship team, I get it. But the reality is we're supposed to rise above that, look past that, and evaluate the situation as to whether or not it is a positive experience for the kids and whether or not they're the most qualified individual for the job. And that's really it. She's been doing a great job. She has upheld the West Valley tradition under Carla Davis set for a number of years. Mike Hayworth, Dick Parks, all these legendary coaches that have come through here.
So, a lot of school psychologists that are doctoral um can't meet our requirements at this time unless they do additional or understand our licensing processes here in Hawaii. >> So, who who trains and credentials school psychologist? >> Um I do not believe that there are any um education programs in the universities located in Hawaii at this time. Okay. So, we don't have school psychologist programs that that's on the on the mainland. >> Okay. >> And the reason in uh left room, anybody else here from uh um feel that there's um there's no need for a um school psychologist because you're a psychologist. You're a psychologist that can go to the schools and work at the schools. Is that >> I'm not sure about that question. I think Okay. So you have school psychologist and then you have psy licensed psychologist. So a licensed psychologist can can go be in schools.
Graduating early is another clear reflection of his maturity and work work ethic. He's chosen to push himself forward rather than settle, showing that he's serious about his future and the path he is creating. What impresses me the most about Connor is not just what he's accomplished, but how much he has grown. He's taken that same energy he once used to entertain the classroom and turned it into leadership, service, and reliability. He's calm under pressure, willing to help others, and committed to becoming the best version of himself. The Soaring Eagle award recognizes students who rise rise above expectations and demonstrate outstanding character. Connor Ethridge embodies that spirit. He has truly soared during his time at Columbia High School, and I have no doubt he will continue to rise and positively impact every member of the community he becomes a part of. I strongly and wholeheartedly am proud to present Connor Ethridge with the Soaring Eagle award.
Might as well fight the right thing and fight, you know, com combine and fight things together. Um, and I just have to say, uh, to the extent that I've damaged those relationships over the last week, I I really, uh, apologize. Um, it's really humbling to realize that you're the person that's responsible for making sure there's a clear process and a clear and transparent process and that you failed in that and that um, you know, part of part of the tension and part of the confusion is that you you haven't been able to provide what people need in order to make good decisions. And um, you know, I can tell you for whatever reason it may be, it's not been for lack of effort. Um, but it's certainly, like I said, very very humbling um to realize that that you haven't necessarily done the things that you need to do and that you're charged with doing.
I've coached against. Melissa is as good as anyone who's come in this north section as a coach. Period. And if I could have one person come up and take over high school program when I leave, it would be Melissa Church. THANK YOU for coffee. Appreciate all public input and we're going to move on with the meeting consent items. Is there any one member wish to pull any of the consent items?
I I don't know of any uh restrictions of psychologists in practice in Hawaii if they're question is how do they select their their psychologist based on what and how do they determine you're qualified to be a school psychologist versus a licensed psychologist. I think outside of the bills that have been introduced, um, you know, I think the DOE has had the, um, the responsibility of vetting the school psychologists. >> Okay. Any other questions? >> Um, let me just ask um, my psychologist that's on Zoom, are you from the University of Hawaii? No, I'm the legislative chair for the Hawaii Association of School Psychologists and have served every position on the board. Um the program of for school psychologists is actually at Shamanod University and they're on their second cohort. And this is again why when we have people who don't know school psychologists, don't know what's happening with school psychology in the state that are making decisions about school psychologists, which has happened since 1999 with our inception of the Felix consent decree, why it's not actually helpful to us.
>> [applause] >> Hello, everyone. My name is John Ginny, and I am in the math department here. Imagine a student who comes to class prepared and eager to learn. A student who knows no strangers. Imagine someone who will jump right in to help a fellow student at any time. Picture a natural-born leader. Someone who leads by example and instills the desire in others to help those around. A person who makes everyone feel comfortable and at ease. Always listening and quick to offer help. Such a person is my choice for Soaring Eagle this year. I've known this person for almost 2 years and continually impressed by the maturity, compassion, and energy they're shown each day. As if these traits weren't enough, my Soaring Eagle is also an athlete in the sports of basketball and golf. Teachers often use the phrase, "A pleasure to have in class." I can think of no one that this applies to more than my Soaring Eagle, Miss Molly Harris.
And and one thing that's important to note though, I think though is that anytime that there's a question regarding our municipal department's commitment to this community, um that that needs to including the school, you know, our commitment to the school department. Um I think that needs to be met with a chorus of heck no like right at the beginning and just to make sure that we say, hey, you know what? um that might not have been what was said. And let's just make clear, we all know how important all of our departments are to our community. Um and most importantly, I think those departments need to hear that from me if that question ever comes up. And they really need to hear from the select board, too, that that's um that's not the way we operate. Um that's really really important. That last piece is um I don't think we really accomplished that at the tribe war meeting unfortunately and I think it it led to some some thoughts um maybe made up maybe real um but in any case we've done a lot of work I think to to smooth that over and I think that last piece is very important um because we understand I think that the superintendent and the school committee have a job to to advocate for the school department and our kids and that's their job and they do that very very well and they perform it very very well.
Hearing none get a motion to approve the consent item to say all in favor consent items approve. >> We'll move on to 6.2 Two, Backcount Horseman presentation. My name is Sam Burroughs. I uh spent the last 20 years of my career working in transportation department right here in Edmonton High School. Very proud of that. Um during that period of time I had the opportunity to take FFA students into the wilderness area in Trinity Alps on two different occasions for a week at a time and we had a hiking club going on with Gary P where we did week day trip on the weekends sometimes week trips. I've wanted to an ordination called back door. We do a lot of volunteer work, stewardship of public lands and that's what I'm here tonight to talk to you about is the possibility of and your approval hopefully to take these FA FA FFA students to random high school here in Trinity Alonus area in Swift Draage which is out of Trinity Center.
They don't know. And that keeps happening in every meeting that we were having with DCCA and HPA. They don't know. And then they would try to kind of put us in one of their boxes. So the the the way that it works now is one of us applies, it goes through the uh office of talent management, which is Sean Bacon's department. Uh somebody has to look at that paperwork and say, is this person qualified or not? that actually takes so much time versus a speech pathologist applies, they are licensed through DCCA, they get put on the list to be eligible for hiring. Um, so it actually has inhibited our ability to hire a school psychologist in a timely fashion. And I've seen numbers of people over my 15 years of involvement with our state association that will email and say, "I applied. I didn't hear back for 6 months and I had to take a job in another state because I couldn't afford to wait that long." So we have lost positions by not having credentiing over the years.
>> [applause] >> Hi, good evening, everyone. Tonight, I have the privilege of presenting the Soaring Eagle award to one of my favorite chemistry students, Knox Brewster. Knox couldn't be with us here today, but I'm grateful that his family is here to represent him. This award doesn't come with a checklist and I'm thankful for that because some of the most deserving students aren't the ones who seek attention or are comfortable standing in front of a crowd. Some students carry challenges that other people don't see and still choose to show up and keep trying. Day after day, week after week, semester after semester, even when it isn't easy. That takes real courage. In my classroom, Knox is thoughtful, reflective, polite, punctual. He's respectful to others and he approaches learning seriously. I can always count on him to come prepared, participate fully, and keep trying even when it's tough.
Um and I think for those on the select board and myself we have a different charge. Our our roles are different than our colleagues. Um and we have to consider every aspect of town. Um but central to that is is really or or one of the central things is our municipal departments and their needs and who advocates for them exclusively and and I think that's um that's our role and that being said um I think we've done a lot of work this week in making sure that everybody feels like they are appreciated and that anything that was contrary to that or perceived as contrary to that is um is is not is not accurate. Um there's been a lot of outreach to um our departments I think by the school committee members and school um school superintendent Jim and I really do um appreciate that and just you know letting them know uh just how they are supported.
It's information on your sheet there. We're uh we're limited to 10 normally, but because of the fact this is a semi working semifinal trip, we can raise 15 on the permit, which would mean Stephen Moore and myself and 13 students over Capron in that process would be able to spend from July 11th of this year through July 20 July 17th in the wellness area. We would um the students would always under be under adult supervision. All the food and so on is going to be paid for and provided by backend horsemen. All of it. Um we will pack in on the horses and mules approximately 4 and a half miles from the fifth creek trail head to a place get called Gibson metal. It's absolutely gorgeous. The lake is about a half mile beyond there. There's always brush to clear. There's always work to do.
>> Thank you. De >> I'm sorry. >> Question. >> Did you want to ask a question? >> Um so how did we how did the schools go about hiring school psychologist? the the requirements to be there's several options. A master's degree in school psychology, 1,200 hours of internship, 600 hours must have been in an elementary, middle, or secondary school setting. Provided that when the internship is less than 1,200 hours or 600 hours in a school setting, one additional year of supervised professional work as a school psychologist in a school setting will meet the requirement. The section, the second option is a master's degree from a regionally accredited college or university in educational psychology, counseling psychology, or a closely related field in a psychology profession that includes graduate coursework in human learning and development. Also with the 1,200hour internship of which 600 hours is done in a school setting.
That perseverance matters. It's not always flashy, it's not glamorous, but it is powerful. And it's the kind of strength that will serve him for a long time. Knox has made an impression on me. He has earned this recognition through steady effort and quiet determination and I'm proud to honor him tonight. Congratulations to Knox and his family. We're proud of him and we're excited to see how high he will soar. >> [applause] >> Hi everybody. I'm Mark Sandstrom. I teach driver's ed and government and I also coach basketball. Uh one of our greatest presidents of all time, Abraham Lincoln, said the best way to predict the future is to create it. This quote fully embodies what my soaring eagle does on a daily basis. Hope Schwartz. >> [applause] >> Hope is a very driven young lady who gives full effort and attention to whatever she is involved in, which is a lot.
And so before I get into everything, I again just want to apologize for anything that I might have um done to generate or perpetuate any hard feelings. Um I I'm actually really proud of the support that we provide and the teamwork that we have. And I think it's sometimes good to pause and just take a look at exactly, you know, what's that's talking about. And like I said, we're really proud of our partnership with the public schools. And I just I don't want to linger on this. I just I just think it's important to note because we haven't before just some of the ways that we do support uh the school department and like with our IT services even though all the budget comes uh to us a significant amount of work happens in the school department and the same thing with our accounting department and our police department and human resources and DPW and again our fire like Lynn you're in there all is it this week or next week pretty much.
Uh out of seven days, we'll probably spend five days maybe five or six hours a day actually doing work. There's a lot of swimming, fishing. Um, yeah, a lot of time sitting around the campfire watching the stars. Just a lot of fun. And it's great to see those kids up there. No electronics. Electronics don't work up there. They have to talk to each other. It's quite funny to listen to them around the campfire. All of a sudden, kids that might not might not spend a lot of time with each other here in school that week, they connect and they'll come back to school and that connection stays. um 20 years uh I'm still in connection with with the kids that were in this program. Let's see here. The only thing would be the transition will be the responsibility of the high school FFA staff. We do have an emergency evacuation plan that will be in place of the US Forest Service.
The third option um as previously mentioned being a current school psych having a current school psychologist license and the fourth would be currently nationally certified school psychologist certification from NASP or the national association for school psychologist. >> So if you have a degree from another college on the mainland and you're not licensed here they can still get >> correct. Correct. >> So have you had problems finding a school psychologist? >> We do. We currently have 70 positions um 26 vacancies. We are current which is a current vacancy rate of 27%. Um in 2024 our vacancy rate was 43%. So we have improved that and as previously mentioned it was the department that um received a grant that enabled us to partner with Shamanad University to get that school psychologist program established. >> So would get having a a so-called licensed school psychologist changed any any of your um ability to to get people school psychologists or to hire or No.