>> Right. It was a very good amount of money. >> Absolutely. It's a great win for everybody. So it was. So thank you. >> Thank you. Is that actually harder to cut through than So, interestingly enough, it is not harder to cut through until we get to the roof. Um we actually found out that our large Jaws of Life where everybody out there understands Jaws of Life, right? Big clamps. They do not spread or cut. It'll tear the metal. Our cutters don't Our cutters can cut across the bus. We can make a really good convertible out of a bus. We don't have it. Um but what we found out was Sawzall. With the new Sawzall blades actually cut down quicker and we were able to open up a two windows wide by just making the Sawzall cut and then utilizing the snips to go across and cutting the main posts out.
Come here, Caesar. It's okay. It's okay. Give me some water. Hey, there's an order out here. Is Madison DeHaven here? She's not here. Landon Ferris. Landon. I called his dad. He's a sweetie. Congratulations. And we're going to stand right up here, okay? Madeline Franco. Congratulations. Crystal Gomez. Natalia Hernandez. Sophia Herrera. Congratulations. Olivia Isaacs. Kendall Krans. Unable to be here. >> [laughter] >> Tennis. Maybe Kyle wants to come and get it for her. I'm pretty sure no. Right. Jack Lehman. Unable to be here. Between tennis and track. Yeah. Axel Lorraine. Tennis. Jackson Lithgow. He's here. Congratulations, Jackson. Caesar Martin. Your turn, buddy. I'm sorry. Nobody told us there was an order. Congratulations. Thank you. It's okay. Sailor McClain. Congratulations. Dish Patel. Uh tennis. >> [snorts] >> Tennis. Noah Picardo. Congratulations. Marissa Sankeyo. You don't pronounce it that name. >> [laughter] >> Esther Sell. Congratulations. Larry Umholtz.
Given these factors, we strongly encourage taking a different approach. Rather than cutting a position now based on projected kindergarten numbers, it would make more sense to keep the position in place until enrollment is finalized. That would give more flexibility to respond to actual student needs. If kindergarten numbers didn't ultimately need um support the need for a fifth kindergarten class, there would be 27 classroom positions to be allocated between first and fifth grade at Quinn. This would result in average class sizes of 21, which would be in line with the rest of the district. Please, do not vote yes to a budget that eliminates yet another teaching position. Thank you for your time. >> [applause] >> I >> Robin Della Fonte, I have kids at the Dartmouth Middle School. I just wanted to say thank you so much to all of you all the hard work you've put in.
Do you have any questions for that? Thank you, Matt. No, well, I just a comment. I appreciate the Alice training set up and doing that. Every time I hear of our buildings doing that, it's I like to see our engagement level, Sheriff's Department, and we got some feedback about some things that maybe we can get better at. I was I'm glad we identified them so we can. So, it's it's awesome to have that training. And obviously the people in it were engaged, so that was Oh, yeah, it it is. I'll tell you what, it was comical. So, um I was actually uh Maddie Wilson, myself, and Cat Elliott were near the door watching the LinkedUp, getting some stuff there. And so, I came back and they were like, "Hey, why don't you come watch?" So, Garrett Hahn goes to go in the first classroom there at the front of the building.
Any opposed, same sign. Motion passes. Item number six is reconciliation and cash balances report, which is attached for your review. Any questions or comments? Okay. Item number seven is recognition of visitors, which there are none. Item number eight is administrative reports. So, things are getting real at CPES. During spring break, eight came and worked on our drainage issue. They got that all taken care of. Now, we just need some more rain to see how that's going to work. Um they came today and they moved our storage container. They put up the snow fence. They started the dirt work, and now all the little kids are just hanging by the windows because there's a lot of big equipment out there. Super excited. Our third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders are working on state assessments this week, um and also our second grade will be taking an optional state assessment.
Do you have any questions regarding 2020? If we can go on to the next Approval of the superintendent agreement with the FCU. FCU. Mr. President members of the board, um uh ASD ASD or Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind is requesting a renewal of the regional cooperative agreement to provide services to the USD. The district's new representative has reviewed the ASD intergovernmental agreement IGA.
>> Might have been earlier this year. Anyway, we're walking by the third grade bathrooms which are just a vacuous cave of tile and um we hear this little boy in there. I have no idea who he was to this day. And he's in there going [laughter] and I couldn't help myself. So I go to the entrance of the bathroom and I go And there's this long pause and he goes that [laughter] was the end of it. I it might have been the beginning of this year but it provided me so much joy to this to this day. So with that said I'd like to focus on those fun things those things that are going on on campus that are helping to cement learning. Boom. Thank you. So we are as we stand here today a B-rated school. I'm sure that's going to go up. Well, we got a whole bunch of things and wow, that did not come across well.
I really love seeing how the schools within the district are stepping up for these Purple Star ceremonies so that they can commit to the military families as they're transitioning into our school district. And I also was able to attend the Dysart A+ school luncheon. So, that's all. Thank you. No update. Ginger Lee Francis award ceremony to honor teachers and staff of the special needs schools or students, sorry. I also wanted to point out that in this um Connect community community Connect magazine they were talking about a Luke Elementary eighth graders uh get a STEM-fueled field trip and um they traveled to the Phoenix International Raceway to participate in Beyond the Finish Line. And um Phoenix Raceway Charities partnered with Larry Fitzgerald Foundation, Cox Communications, and NASCAR to put on the event. And Cox Communications gave each participant a uh computer. I just thought it was a good story.
This ties it in for you. So the the county facil school facility tax um is something that has been in place since 2007 across the state of Illinois. Right now over half the counties have passed this tax. Lake County has never put it on the ballot. Um what it allows is uh the sales tax can be imposed from 0.25% increments up to 1%. Usually you'll see it as 1% sales tax. Uh this this graph right here shows you the state the counties in Illinois. All the all the counties in light blue have passed the county the sales tax. The dark blue I believe have put it on the ballot but it has not passed. Um it what it covers the uh the sales tax includes everything except that list you're seeing right there. Cars, trucks, ATVs, boats, RVs, mobile homes, unprepared food. So, uh, groceries, it does not cover does not count towards groceries, drugs, farm equipment inputs, and services are not taxed in Illinois.
Any discussion? No. Dr. Murillo? I. Dr. Martin? I. Ms. Wenmouth? I. >> [snorts] >> Mr. Serone? I. Dr. I. Ms. Zee? I. Motion passes 6-0. Moving to action item 5.2. >> Before we go, we'd like to just make a comment by Dr. Mitchell to share some exciting news this evening on one of our appointments tonight, and I want to thank the board for its confidence. Thank you. Good evening, President Serone, Vice President Martin, members of the board, and Superintendent Dr. Kilgati. It is my pleasure to bring to the board Chanel Lawson as a recommended candidate for the Director of Schools position in the K-8 role. Chanel Lawson brings a depth of experience, proven leadership, and a clear commitment to student-centered education that makes her a strong candidate for the director role. Her track record includes successful leadership in the junior high setting where she has demonstrated the ability to build and enhance relationships with staff, students, and families.
And so now most of them brought with them either data binders or some student work that they are really really excited to come up and talk to our members of the board. Um and Dr. Finley and Mrs. uh all day and Dr. So you guys can come up and kind of talk to them a little bit about what you brought and all the hard work you put in. You guys ready? Okay, we're going to walk over here. You guys ready? >> I asked him if they had their speeches ready. That was my kind of gave me the fifth grade look. >> He made him very nervous. >> Come on over. We won't bite. >> We're very easy. >> Yes. >> Smile a bunch. That's it. Oh yeah. I mean, huh? All right. Well, I'll just make a quick comment on behalf of the board, but the students uh have left and the parents won't hear it either, but um was a joy to um for all of us to see their data folders, hear about the progress they're making at Cedar, and just want to thank the teachers and Mr.
During Miss Hardy's observations, it is common to see her working at a small table with a group of students, providing targeted instruction and individualized support. I've witnessed her retach concepts to to students who were struggling, help students catch up after absences, and introduce new strategies to strengthen their understanding. One particular example occurred as students prepared for the ILearn assessment. Using testing data, Miss Market formed a small group and introduced a stat strategy she called the bullseye method. After modeling the strategy, students began working independently using markers to place their own answer choices on the board. This approach not only strengthen their comprehension skills, but also built confidence as they practiced a clear process for evaluating answers. Miss Mark's classroom is a place where students are inspired to do their very best each day. As Brad Henry once said, "A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and still and instill a love of learning." Miss Market does exactly that through her engaging instruction, encouragement, and genuine care for her students.
Um I think last time and I'd have to check, but I think we may have paid out of the kitchen or we may have split it. So, a lot of times we'll split stuff. So. If we do pay for it out of any of ours, it would come out of operations funds. Okay. Um I need a motion to approve the purchase of that oven. I make the motion to approve it. Okay, I have a motion. Do I have a second? I'll second. I have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. And opposed the same? Okay, that carries and the board I will update you guys where we're buying it from. Next up this evening, um we were very fortunate to receive a grant from the Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Southwestern Indiana in the amount of $150,000 to fund a brand new preschool playground.
But a roof, it ate up our our K12 saw. We needed you blame for that because we tried cutting up opening up right at the window, the vents, we couldn't get that open. So, we decided at that point if we ever have one on that side, it's better to tunnel to take the seats out to actually get into it. So, a lot of a lot of lessons learned. We actually cut two windows. If you look at our pictures, we have one with double window, one with I call it a door, and one with one door. We used different tools to see what was faster, what was safer, how to get kids out. Um you know, we did a lot of little things which you can't see in the pictures. We the bench seat, we took the backs of the bench seats off, flipped those so that we can put a a a sit a backboard there.
Nope. I don't know where Larry is. Larry has the had the best hair on the football team, too. Austin Zimmerman. >> [clears throat] >> Cut it for speech season. He cut it for speech season. Thank you. Mr. Chris Miller, coach. Ashley Hayes, coach. Joyce Hazel. Otherwise known as Mama Pay. And Jessica Krans. Thank you. Congratulations. >> Thank you. I'll give you that use, too. Yes. I told them you were pretty sure. Second one isn't even hard. Okay. This is awesome. All right, I'll scoot you down. All right, guys. Mom. I don't know where we're looking. Wherever. Anywhere, everywhere. Okay, now don't leave me. Don't move. I'll give you a star. >> [laughter] >> All right, let's see if we can get everybody in here. I cannot see this, Chris. I can't see you. Nice try, Chris. He's working hard at it. >> [laughter] >> All right, [snorts] we're good.
We applaud all of your efforts. Special shout-out to Mr. Oliver for getting on the socials and clarifying some misinformation topics that were shared in the community that just were simply incorrect. It's super important to make sure that the community has the right information, as we all know can be a little difficult these days. So, thank you. When it comes from the horse's mouth, it's a really big deal. I deeply encourage the continued transparency and education. Awesome. In any way possible that we can do it, the more folks are informed, the better. >> [clears throat] >> Your dedication to providing services that are essential to all the students is commendable. It's not a small task. It's exciting to learn about the student-facing positions you fought for and will receive the funding from the select board. However, it's not spending more, it's spending some to not fall further behind.
And I think it was Genie Solana threw a trash can at him. And he with a trash can, Sage is hitting him with a ruler, like he takes off and runs the other way. And so, it was it was pretty comical. I mean, they were engaged and it's it's just one of those things that if you get in that bench, say, "Whatever you can do, fight." So. Really, the only thing I'm going to add on here is um we 2 weeks ago changed If you have a high schooler, you've probably have heard of our our power hour format during the middle of the day. Um spent a lot of time with our BLT team and uh discussing different ways to improve that. Um spent a lot of time observing and how the format works. Checking our kids on their eligibility reports. Um actually observed two other schools and how they do theirs a little bit differently than ours.
That testing window closes on April 24th. Right before spring break, we had the Ozark area leapers come and perform a gymnastics routine for us. It was loud, it was exciting, and the energy was through the roof. So, a special thanks to H&B for making those arrangements for us. We did have a great turnout for our three- and four-year-old preschool roundup. Right now, we're looking at 27 three-year-olds and 26 four-year-olds, and we've had a few calls in the meantime, so I'm not sure if those numbers were already on the list, but we're still grabbing it. Uh Mr. Robinson and some of his students built us a new sandbox to add to the playground, so that's been a fun addition. Hannah Canales is our student of the week. She's the daughter of Kyler and Kristen Canales. Ms. Lanham's art students have submitted many prize-winning pieces. She had a Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest that quite a few students won on, and then Genevieve Beck also won second place in the World Rabies Day Contest, and she will receive a prize along with a $400 donation to the grade school.
Any questions for this one? The curriculum and intergovernmental agreement in the intergovernmental agreement in the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind intergovernmental agreement Mr. President members of the board, um Beyond Textbooks and its parent organization Learning A-Z in our school district are requesting a renewal of their intergovernmental agreement to provide services to the Agua Fria Union High School District. The district's new representative has reviewed the attached IGA. Very well worth the $11,000 for the curriculum beyond the online um curriculum uh programs and services are strong base for all grades K-12. Um put the sequence in This is where the the professional development that comes from this are not for the beginning textbook district specific conference. So, this is this is lower. Would you say that that's been one of the major contributing factors to the improvement in our school letter grades? Absolutely, Mr. President.
So, we have 17 different clubs and extracurriculars. We'll go to those in just a second. We have um specials that are going on all day. We have a variety of community partnerships. We focus on reading um like it's going out of style and in some places it actually is. Um character counts. One of the things that I was so enamored with when we had the EL audit is the women came back at the end of the day and I was getting them coffee and whatever and she goes, "I didn't have to open a single door all day." And I'm like, "Okay." She goes, "Kids were just holding the doors open for us." And and that actually kind of emboldens my heart. Um obviously we have a one to one um Chromebook ratio. Our PTO is is out of sight and out of this world. In fact, they're just finishing up their meeting right now.