Um we had in operations and infrastructure the following categories. Um we were able to apply grants and also curtail spending um and recognize some savings in many of these areas and that would be district supplies, utilities, communications, replacement equipment, tech infrastructure and dues fees and subscriptions. Moving on to student activities, we had a bit of an overbudget there. Two driving factors were um the purchase of the track timing system which again um was approved by the board after the budget was um passed last year due to a um a big situation for track and I guess Dr. Bowman can talk about that. Um and then also boys and girls golf um this year is driving an overbudget condition because of the previous um recreation uh facility. I think it was Blue Fox um closed and we had to relocate and again that was unbudgeted um and the price for the new facility was much higher um for practices and games.
So, terrible example. Now, you're going to go down to four teachers and you're going to have 50 students per class. And whatever those actual numbers are, the resulting class size is something that Kevin, you everybody are. >> Had you been hiring one additional, you'd say this is great. These are, you know, sweet spot class sizes for this subject and this department. >> Yeah. Um, for the record, Matt's use of 40 to 50 students in a class is hypothetical and not reflective of real circumstances, but um, yeah. So, so, uh, I don't I'm yet to meet really a parent, a teacher, um, anybody that's going to argue that, uh, oh, geez, if we had one person in the class, it would be great. But um obviously that's um you know not not our reality. So we took a look at the the numbers and feel very confident in the in the class sizes.
because this is one of the hardest goodbyes I have ever made. As you begin your new journeys, love those around you deeply. Hold tight onto the memories you've made and embrace the difficult goodbyes. Because if the goodbyes are difficult like the ones today, it means that you have loved well and have been loved deeply. So goodbye class of 2026. Thank you for the memories. Yours truly, Adel Shawn Buyers. [applause] And now please welcome Fusion performing the song Viva La Vita by Cold Play. [applause] >> [music] [singing] [music] [singing] >> I used to roll [singing] when I came [music] down in the morning. I sleep the streets. [singing and music] D. [singing] [music] [singing] I used to roll the dice. Feel the fear in my [singing and music] enemies. Listen as the crowds would sing. Now the old king is [music and singing] dead. Long live the king.
Kelling has been an amazing student to have this year. Kellen wants to be a firefighter when he grows up. >> All right, for first grade we have Jude Lee Juan Ortega. Miss Hernandez said, "Jude Lee is an outstanding student who is highly motivated to learn. He comes to school ready to learn and with the positive attitude towards learning every day. He consistently excels in all his given tasks. He is a kind, friend, and supportive classmate. He is mastering all academic standards and is reading above his expected reading level. Miss Hernandez is so proud of Judley and can't wait to see him accomplish amazing things." When Jude Lee grows up, he would also like to be a firefighter. Our second grade student of the month is Briella Thomas is an outstanding student who consistently demonstrates a strong commitment to her education. She comes to school each day prepared, focused, and eager to learn, setting a positive tone for those around her.
Yes. So, it seems, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, would you say the majority of we got about 260 270 responses that the majority of those were probably parents? Because we obviously we have our our marquee out here, >> but I know we also send email and we have social media. I'm and I'm so my nervousness is that the the people who we kind of guess are not going to would not vote for it didn't probably fill out a survey because they're probably not on our social med on our on Blige social media because they probably don't care. Um, but they but they're going to care when it comes time to vote and and I and I'm wondering if there was a I I I mean I don't think that's going to sway whether or not we we try to go for a bond or override it at this point, but I'm just worried that the numbers are kind of skewed to people who have kids in in the district.
You were nominated by the elementary specialist, teachers, music, library, and PE. CONGRATULATIONS, W is an exceptional kindergartener. He is a kind. He's kind to me when I'm teaching and to his peers when they are learning. He stays on task to complete all assignments and this shows responsibility. Wen follows all of the school and classroom rules. He is safe at recess when playing with his peers. I really love having walking in our class. Congratulations. Amy Noeli uses kind words and smiles with her friends and school staff. She says please and thank you often. She's safe when she uses class supplies during independent work times. Emmy Noeli is responsible because she works hard to follow classroom and school rules every day. Good job, Emmy. Congratulations, Mrs. RODRIGUEZ. >> Bernie consistently demonstrates kindness by helping others, offering positive words, and openly expressing her feelings in a thoughtful way.
It's an AI tutor for reading. And so, we do recognize that we absolutely need to make some changes here as well. So, we collaborated our literacy coaches and our technology integration coach were able to work together on this because our technology integration coach, there's one for all nine schools and so and to support her reach reaching out to teachers, our literacy coaches have added a standing agenda item just to make sure that there is that verbal communication at least monthly. [clears throat] Like, how is it going? What are you encountering and how can we support you? So, one of our ongoing actions throughout the year is our series of professional development. We had one series, which is our creating professional learning, which are four sessions over the school year for K3 teachers. And let's see, that one is our foundational seminar on the left and then our other one is the group of 11 teachers and four administrators participating in that literacy cohort throughout the year.
[laughter] I don't know about you, Chip, but every night, every day. It's It's awesome. It's just part of the job. But I do love data, so I'm going to share some with you, and I think you've had this in your board packet, so I'm just going to kind of skim over some really cool stuff. I love data. I love music. So, we've combined the two things, so we're going to hope this clicker works. >> Yay. >> So, big news, 7 years in a row, big accomplishment, best communities in music education. Only five districts in the state of Arizona have won that award this year. And that's in large part to Mr. Durham. He and Mrs. Nichols before him um filled out the application. So, thank you, Mr. That's a big honor. Not many districts in the country get that. Another thing that I'm really proud of um is the diploma seal.
>> Okay. So what is our protocol or procedure when we have a single source bidding? Do we just allow that one bid bidder to bid or do we say allow oursel enough time to rebid it out or you feel comfortable that you're not going to get any biders? >> Um I feel comfortable we won't last year uh last time we went out two years ago we did have Wilkins Food Service who was a local provider but they couldn't beat the price and as I said I believe a lot of local vendors around here procure their milk from Perry Farms. So Perry Farms is essentially cutting out the middleman. >> So they run they run the market. It sounds like the only thing I'm just afraid of them knowing that they're going to be a single source bidder for the most part and they can put their price in a price as they see fit, submit it to us, and they have no competitors.
Well, I think that's why the after-school or before-school option probably works better. I don't like it, Jess. I hate it. I think band during the day is what we need. >> this way this year. In Berlin, is it going to function differently next year? The band? >> I don't know. So, those are conversations we're going to have with the new principal, right? In terms of what that's going to look like in terms of scheduling. I know that in Bolton, it was very difficult cuz not all kids played an instrument. So, some kids were being taken out, so the teachers really didn't get an extra prep cuz three kids might have been left behind or five kids left behind. So, and and just for for clarity, you know, we we don't disagree, right? Teachers would like some additional prep time, right? Uh but we are following the contract that says that they have four preps.
Um, and for special education, um, I noted that there was an increase in the loss, but I do want to say that we did, um, have some savings in professional development. We had some savings in tuition, um, due to some shifts in student placement. We had a few some savings in Bridges, the Bridges program, um, which we were able to enroll, um, a few more students towards the end of the year. Um and then out of district revenues increase slightly due to some services that were available to other towns. Um and although we do um have an overbudget condition in that area, we work really hard to um try and um realize savings wherever possible. Um so yeah, there we are at $220,000 over budget, but we did um have some great strategic use of grant um funding um some shifts um from regular education to special education.
um I can get you you know what the class size enrollment is in social studies uh for that for the you know next meeting >> but it's not >> it's not anything out of the ordinary for any other class or or subject at Cheshure High School. It is well aligned. >> Okay. Yeah. I I'd be interested in seeing that. I I share, you know, Mark beat me to the question about administrators and sort of seeing how Barnum shakes out with a new AP and seeing, okay, we're going to go that way and and how that school's going to be run. We got a lot of things to to learn and and plan for and and see how these things go. Um, but I look at this role touching a hundred students and I'm I'm missing the context of well, how many students are we affecting at the the back end of of the public school system, right?
One minute I held the king. Next, [singing] the walls were close on me. And I discovered that my castle stand [singing] upon pillars of songs and pillars of sand. Wo! I each Jerusalem bells [singing and music] are ringing. Roman Cal singing be my [singing and music] mirror, my sword, my shield. My missionaries in a foreign field. For some reason, I can't explain. [singing] Once you'd gone, there is never an honest [singing] word. But that was when I ruled the world. [singing] [music] >> It was a wicked and wild wind [singing] blew down the doors to [music] let me in. Shattered windows and the [singing] sounds of drums. People couldn't believe what I'd become. Revolutionary way for my head on a steer plate. Just a puppet on a lonely [singing] string. Oh, who would ever want to be king? [singing] I Jerusalem bells are ringing. Roman Calvary choirs are singing.
In the classroom, Bella actively participates in discussions, asks thoughtful questions, and contributes meaningful ideas. Bei beyond her academic strengths, Bela is also a kind and compassionate individual. She is a supportive friend who treats her peers with respect and encouragement, often going out of her way to help others feel included and valued. When she was asked what she would like to be when she grows up, she said, "I want to be a teacher when I grow up because I want to share what I learned today with my future students." Congratulations, Briella. I don't know why. >> Um, please welcome Miss Yazy to introduce her student of the month. >> For my student of the month, I chose Jesse Montana. Uh Jesse has shown great improvement from the beginning of the year to now. He is always coming to school with a positive attitude and is always putting his best work forward.
>> Yeah. And and I I think you're probably right on that. And I think um you know, Mr. Gil and I actually had a really good nice discussion that was informative on surveys and polls and really what their usefulness is and you know he's he's been around for a while and so he knows and and I think some of it more so than the strict percentages as you look at the comments that people leave and and those are the things that we really need to address and I think we've done a good job with our forums and meetings and at least allowing everybody to have a voice so that we can look at addressing some of the issues because some people speak on behalf of themselves and some people speak on behalf of a broader co coalition and I think putting our plan together and um you know on how we go about things I think is important but yes you're 100% correct that we do not know and it it probably is leaning more towards people who have a connection with Blige I do know that some people shared it out on broader social media um But yeah, we didn't capture necessarily everybody in the community, but the people we did capture, >> it's it's a positive sign.
She shows respect each day by raising her hand, listening attentively, and valuing the ideas of both her teacher and classmates. She has also grown in responsibility by speaking up for herself and making positive choices. She brings such a sweet and uplifting presence to our classroom. Her positive attitude, ability to problem solve, and effort to stay out of drama or help others work through it make her a wonderful role model for her peers. She adds joy to our classroom with her silly and fun personality. And she often makes meaningful connections by sharing about the special people in her life, showing how much she values and learns from them. We are so proud of Bernie and the kindness, respect, and responsibility she shows every day. Congratulations, Bernie. Mrs. N. This award is proudly presented to Vame Valenuela for showing kindness, responsibility, and safe choices each day. Your positive attitude and respect for others make our classroom a better place.
And so, we have finished those cycles and you can see the results with teachers being more confident that what they are learning is impacting their capacity and their student outcomes. Okay, a series of board questions include for high priority schools and grade levels, will we be utilizing any intervention specialist to work with our students directly either in small groups or one-on-one? And the answer to that question is yes. Our students in grades K-3 who are below grade level, they receive tier two or tier three intervention services. Students who receive tier two, they receive small group instruction from their teacher using that 95% group that you saw that picture of. That is a move on when reading approved curriculum. So again, in the state of Arizona with move on when reading for K-3 literacy, we do need to ensure that we are using SA rated move on when reading approved curriculum.
The state of Arizona recognizes four diploma seals that can be placed on our high school diplomas. That's the seal of the arts, biliteracy, civics literacy, and personal finance. Our growth, as you can see since we started in 2021, has been tremendous, and our music program is a large part of that. Last year, orchestra um was the largest group of students earning the arts seal. In 2026, drama edged them out just a little bit, but band was a close second. So, you can see the breakdown there and I'm really proud of the work that all of our teachers have done in that. We also have a strong music leadership in our district. We are well represented in state associations by our music teachers. As you can see from the AMEA a ABODA, AZMBA, and even in Thespians and Art Ed, we have a lot of leaders in our district.
Well, Miss Pamza does a great job with that because she also does uh cross reference the prices through her purchasing cooperative cooperatives. Okay. And uh bid results were lower than the purchasing car. >> Okay, that's great. There's some checks and balances there. Okay, it looks it looks like from 2024, even with the two cents that's changing, it's still 5 cents cheaper than what we paid in 24. >> That's good. That's good. That's good. >> Even though they're the only ones. >> Yeah. You know, I I just looking holistically. If a vendor is out there knowing they're going to be the only bidder, hey, you know what? I'm gonna give them a price. Take it or leave it. And they know they're the only ones. They have no competition and usually they bid high. >> Yeah. In situations like that, we leverage our relationship with the co-op.
We just negotiated a contract with them, and we are following the exact what we we agreed to on that, as well. Yeah. I'm just saying, like she's still a district employee, technically. And so, if like every parent I've told, "Hey, part of those cuts was a band director," you know, like there many concerned parents, obviously, at multiple schools right now, but I guess I would like to leave the avenue open that if parents wanted to fund a specific fund and raise money to have her to maintain that joint band time. I think it should be something I'm just throwing out creative ideas. >> once we find out what next year will look like for BMS, can we look into like I think it's maybe this conversation's like a like a little bit premature, but we maybe we look into once we have an idea of what BMS looks like, if she wants to continue with the 0.4, and then we start working on how would it look at BES and move forward from there, but I don't think we've gotten a single email about band, have we?