I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right, we're going to start with student recognition. Ankle, turn it over to you. >> I'll turn it over to the principles. We have the honor of speaking together for this first one for our troings troangs gymnastics team. Um we are really excited as you can see and have you been seeing us celebrate um on social media and have mentioned it here before. Uh the success of our Stroings gymnastics team is just an unbelievable tradition at this point. Um so we are going to introduce Kristen Campos and Kylie Bosow. Kristen is our head coach and Kylie's our assistant. >> Hi guys again. Um I can't forget about Bill. He's also my trusty assistant um for the last 19 years.
Hearing none. Next up, we have community input. There's no one signed up. So, we'll go to approval of the previous meeting minutes. Approval of the minutes from the March 9th, 2026 meeting. Are we all good with putting those on consent? I can't see them. >> Yeah, there's no meetings attached There's no notes attached to our agenda. Okay. I can't review and approve. Okay, so we will have to >> I will get those out to everybody tomorrow. We can So, they'll have to go back to discussion. >> Okay. Thank you. Okay. Next up, we have discussion topics. First up, we have the presentation of the bond issuance and parameters resolution for by PTMA, Mr. Shepherd. Yes, so good evening. So, as the board is aware, in 2024, we issued about $14 million, a little more, in bonds as a result of our successful referendum in the fall of 2024.
Comments are limited to 3 minutes per speaker. We do not engage in discussion or respond to questions at this time. We focus on listening out of respect for our community. However, as appropriate and necessary, we'll use district's regular communication channels to share any information that may address questions or concerns raised here tonight. So, our first public speaker is Jean Meyer. Okay, the green light's on. It's good to go. Yes. Jean Meyer, resident. As a recovered transgender student from 1971, I would ask the board to love and fight for every student. That includes loving the transgender student so much like I was. Loving them by teaching academics, not indoctrination. God's holy Bible gives the parent, particularly the father, the responsibility to raise their children in the way they should go. That's rather a politically incorrect statement nowadays, and I'm proud to say it. Increasingly, the school systems are excluding the parents from vital decisions a student may make or what students are taught or allowed to access.
I'll make a motion to pass the minutes of the executive session of March 13th, 2026, and the minutes of the regular board meeting of March 16th, 2026. I'll second. Motion and second. All in favor for the meetings minutes, say aye. Aye. All opposed. I just want to make note that um those dates were accurate. If that's incorrect, I'll make changes when I send it out, but at least they voted on the correct date. >> Yes, correct. Yes. Okay. I will make that Okay. Yeah, change to that. B2, vouchers and financial reports. Can I get a motion to accept those? I'll make a motion to approve the vouchers and financial reports. >> I'll second. Go ahead. I'll second. We have a motion and a second.
I hear Mr. Hurd. I hear Mr. Loopy. I hear Mr. Howell say these wonderful things, helping kids be wonderful adults when they grow up. So, just such a wonderful staff here. Um the other thing I noticed is just in general, the adults are so hard working. Oh my goodness. Like, there's custodians here every morning, vacuuming, writing in every day and night and late at night working. I see like the administrators taking on the extra jobs. There's so many things that the guidance counselors are doing. Just everybody works so hard here, and it's just such a blessing to be here. So hard working, um teaching kids. And then just the the last thing is the positive atmosphere. Feel so supported. Feel anything that you could need. All the other staff popping in constantly to check on us. Um I don't know. I just think it's been a wonderful change.
And I know different teachers and I spent hours in the summer preparing our classrooms cuz I went from Wolf Creek to Albion. And I'm one of these people that will do whatever you tell me to do with a smile on my face, but I just don't know if you realize the amount of work that is required to move a classroom. And I know I have a lot of stuff that Mr. Lap Mom Lading told me in one of my evaluations. He said, "Angie, I have to tell you something bad about you. is you got too much stuff." And that's been probably 20 years ago. So I know I have a lot of stuff, but it still takes a lot of time and effort. And I gave up a vacation in July to spend time in my classroom even though it was Florida in the middle of July with my husband, but anyways, I just wanted to let the board know you need to make some decisions because it takes a lot of time to move a classroom.
Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion passes 5-0. I get a motion to adopt the agenda as our own. I move we adopt the agenda as our own. Second. Moved by Bryce, seconded by Amy to adopt the agenda.
As is a custom, we ask you to stand and join us in the pledge of allegiance, please. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You may be seated. Next we have good news, Jason Wootenberger. Good evening. Thank you very much, President Duckworth, Superintendent Huber, members of the board. Let's go through good news since the last time that we met. Great news to start off with this evening. We had this year for the Vanderburgh County. Always like to make that clear. It's not just within EBSC, the Vanderburgh County Educators of the Year. This year we had the principal of the year, the high school teacher of the year, and elementary school teacher of the year. Two of these fine individuals are with us tonight.
Yeah, from from Cheshire High School, yes. Okay. So, one chaperone and her. Yes. We did a lot of coordination. So, she's actually going to be flying up with a delegation from another school for lodging and those kind of things. It's cost sharing and so, she's with some other students as well. There's a lot of parent coordination on that. So, who is the student? Are we allowed to say? I don't think that that's that's not the school's for name at this point, but she might win something and then we might need her later. Yeah. She's involved at the national level. I'm not sure who Yeah, she's part of it. She's one of our state officers. So, we did well in competition and it's been planned to go from from the get-go knowing this is part of the state delegation. Okay. We don't have to go on that.
So with that, any questions? No. No questions, any discussion members? If not, the chair recommends that we we amend this resolution to also add technical non-substantive amendments for clarity and that we make the same amendments with the Senate version to have it to be a what's the word? Yeah. Yeah, micro-credential. Uh okay, no discussion chair. I still need that. Okay, uh Do we have Oh, we do. Okay. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, okay. Yeah, chair votes I. Wait, do we have quorum? Yeah. We do. Chair votes Okay, great. Uh Committee on Education. Members, we're voting on HCR 122. Chair's recommendation is to pass unamended. With amendment. >> With amendment. >> Yes, as articulated. Okay, chair votes I, acting vice chair votes I, Senator Kidani is excused, uh Senator Fukunaga. >> I. Senator Hashimoto is excused, chair your measure is adopted. >> Thank you. And for the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, recommendation is the same, passing with amendments.
We're right in the middle of spring sports right now. There's been a lot of accomplishments. You can see uh different state things that we've won where it's, you know, in the top middle there and in the bottom right there. Like I said, very small photos because there's been a lot going on with all of our spring sports. And they've just been doing amazing. You know, our Patriots love getting out, getting active, doing the sports that they love. Um and that's no different than now. They're they're continuing to do that. They're continuing to be out and can just enjoying everything. Um extracurriculars. Here's some stuff that just happened very briefly. Had to give a shout out to NHS. A little two little shout outs there. In the top left, we had St. Baldick. We raised over $7,000 for cancer, which is amazing. Um, and in the bottom right, that's our kilometers for Africa.
Miss Benhart was chosen from a robust candidate pool, and met with more than two dozen D62 staff members throughout her very extensive interview process. It is my pleasure to introduce to you Donna Benhart. >> Thank you. That was so nice. Um, I really appreciate that. And I just want to thank the board, Dr. Amade, and then all cabinet members as well. Um, I'm so excited to begin my career here in district 62. I am really excited after meeting some of the north staff at my interview, and also just really grateful to begin working with the community, the students, and the families, and getting to know all of them and starting relationships with all of them as well. Um, I also just want to take a quick moment to thank my family, um, who's here tonight. My mom who traveled here all the way from Florida.
Um so uh the girls are here. So I'm g introduce each of them. So if you can just kind of wave. Caroline Phillip Avery Perave. >> Okay. Stand up and wave. Give it your best. We'll try again. Caroline Avery, Heidi Schmidt, Hannah Larkin, Stella Peron, Edie Condan, Lauren Dy, Kayn Landry, Emily Kutcha. >> Feels like a test right now. Okay, >> can you say their names? Um, all right. So, just a quick shout out to them. Uh, this year was definitely different than previous years. So, this was four trophies in four years. Uh, as the seniors said, we're like the Avengers. We collected all the colors. Um, which was kind of fun. Uh, to have one of of each, but third and state was great with um a team of basically seniors, juniors, and freshman. We have no sophomores. Uh, so to have the newcomers come in and learn our ways and our uh family tradition of excellence and hard work was awesome.
It is already time to be discussing the second round of bond issuance to issue the remaining amount that is left standing. So, tonight we have Ms. Tammy Shalmo from PTMA. I got to get used to saying PTMA rather than PMA. And she is here to walk the board through this process and to give the board an update. So, Tammy. Hear me? Is this working? Okay, thank you. It's nice to patient to talk about the next sale of bonds. So, we uh looked at the draw schedule to determine would it be in the district's best interest to sell all of the referendum authority at once or to sell it in a couple different tranches. And based on that analysis, the board agreed to selling, as David said, uh most of the bond proceeds in 2024, but there's approximately 5.2 million of proceeds that still needs to be generated under that referendum authority.
On May 2nd, 2026, the US Supreme Court gave victory to parents and educators in California in Mirabella versus Bonta, which challenged parental exclusion policies or gender secrecy directives that forced educators to hide critical information from parents about their own children's secret gender transition. The decision was 6 to 3. This decision creates a strong precedent for challenges in other states as this ruling violates parents' constitutional rights under the 1st and 14th Amendment. States with comparable policies may face immediate legal pressure to revise or rescind them. School districts in dozens of states that have California-style non-disclosure rules may face financial and legal consequences. California was corrected with a $4.52 million fine. I have never heard this board discuss parental rights, and certainly I have spoken about them, encouraging only the hiring of staff, including principals and superintendents, who have a record of supporting the rights of parents.
Any discussion? Tracy, is there anything? >> I didn't have anything to point out unless somebody had any questions regarding the annual. Does anybody have any questions or concerns that we need to address? No.
It's been so like good for me and my heart and for my soul to be here. So, thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> I do want to say I have less staff now. >> [laughter] >> I am more staff. I'm the school counselor at the high school, and I asked five kids to be here tonight to share some experiences with you. And I've been lucky to kind of get to know them through some individual meetings we have over the years and when I hear their stories I think it's a very different each student has a very different experience but something very worthwhile to hear from for our community and for our board and it's just a small glimpse of what our school is doing and what our kids are achieving. There's so many other kids that I could have asked to come I actually would have paid at one point and I was like oh that's a lot.
Thank you. >> [cough and clears throat] [snorts] >> We have a special presentation from the junior or Central Noble Junior Senior High. So um tonight we have some of our staff members and students talking with you. Um you know, we could tell you the things that are happening here, but to hear from our staff and students, I think it's going to be much more impactful. Uh one of the things I wrote about this week in my newsletter was how our small school continues to make a big impact and I think you're really going to hear that from our students who are all kind of going in different paths, but we've, you know, supported that and helped to make it possible. And then from a couple of our teachers you'll hear from our fifth grade team um who last year was in a similar position and probably had some um questions and angst about moving, but when you can look at them at the end of this year and say that we're sitting on is the blue furniture, um I think it's been it's been pretty successful.
Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion passes 5-0. Next step are recognitions. Well, we're going to start having these on the football field or something. We got a lot of people. So, thanks for being here, all of you families and kids. Love hearing your voices. I got to play tic-tac-toe on Friday with the kiddos, so it was fun. So, appreciate all you guys are doing. I know little guys, you guys are all in testing right now, right? Everybody taking some serious ILEARN. Yeah. Everybody ready for summer break? Yeah. Yeah. So, well, we'll we'll start with the junior senior high school. Mr. Lake, Mr. Beckman. Okay, we'll start off with the junior high. That would be Riley Kohi. Riley, if you want to come on up here. Riley's bigger than you are. He is. I know. That doesn't happen very often for middle school, especially.
I'll make you wait just a second longer though uh to hear from them. They're going to be with you for district spotlight, but certainly proud uh to have these individuals representing EBSC and dedicating themselves to our students and their families. Um speaking of some more great news, uh as you remember back in the fall, we certainly received a lot of uh positive attention in EBSC for the work we've done with early literacy resulting in such progress on the IREAD test for primary age students, uh the state required reading test. Um and that was great back in the fall and then three of our schools uh were invited back to Indianapolis recently to the Indiana Department of Education, uh where they were recognized because they surpassed the goal of 95% of students passing the state's IREAD test. So, congratulations to McCutchanville Elementary, Oak Hill Elementary, and Scott Elementary.