>> Okay. >> What were this year as they were trying to do the hybrid between the two? What were some of the um What was involved with it and what were some of the challenges the teachers were facing with it? >> The challenge was, like I said, the the our systems do talk in in they we've got the standards aligned in there and they were able to talk and assign it a one, two, or three based on the the percentage that they earned, but then taking that and then trying to attach a grade to it. So, um then they had to go back and they had to look at was it an 80%? Was it a 70%? What was it that gave them a two or a three? Um so, not just the the number, but the percentage. And then, you know, the the traditional grade is an average of that.
Also we had the bookmobile come to a lot of the sites and they give books to the kids and encourage reading with them over the summer. Updates. These are more like our our federal guideline updates for next school year as well as beyond. Uh this year we had a limit on the amount of sugar in cereals and yogurt and flavored milk. That will continue next year. No change in that. We've had no trouble procuring that from our vendors. Um for school year 27 we are going there will be a 10% decrease in total calories in breakfast from added sugars and then also a decrease um a further decrease I should say in sodium in lunch 15% and a 10% reduction in breakfast. And then the Healthy Kids Act um came into effect in January of this year. Prior to this we've been following federal guidelines that we can only provide low-fat milk and and fat-free milk to children.
>> It's not allowed to shoot items off. >> Yeah but so we decided to go with coupons cuz coupons Coupons are redeemable for anything so you can Our idea is to have them redeemed at the concession stands for a candy bar maybe a t-shirt memorabilia whatever it is so that's kind of where where we went with the coupons instead of a t-shirt so >> Yeah. On that bottom left picture too you're going to see those balloons in there. We have about seven different types of balloons stuck in there right now. They all vary in volume but the volume matters so much by how much you fill them up cuz even just the slightest of loss or gain of helium that determines if it goes up or if it goes crashing down. >> Yeah. So this takes us into our entrepreneurship. As you've seen or we've all seen or heard of the Goodyear blimp or the Capital One blimp they're mainly only used for advertisement you don't really see them like used for anything else not like what we're wanting to use them for so Riley would you We talk a little bit about what we thought we could do with them.
I'll make a motion. Second. >> Ryan. All in favor? I. Opposed? Passes 5-0. Recommendation to approve special education cooperative joint services agreement, Barry. Yes, this is something you folks do every year. It's literally to keep us in the co-op. Basically says that we'll follow their rules as as well and we'll work with them to meet student needs and they'll work with us to meet our student needs. It's something you do, it's a standard procedure. We do it every year, so I'm going to ask for your approval right now. May I have a motion on the recommendation to approve special education cooperative joint services agreement? >> I'll move. Second? I'll second. Brian and all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Recommendation to approve obsolating library books, may have a motion? I'll make a motion. Second? Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Passes 5-0. Recommendation to approve overnight and or out of state field trip for FFA horse judging team to attend state contest in Indianapolis August 5th through 6th.
Um and I didn't want to cheat the winner because I I did want to read part of the nomination because I do think it it kind of sums some things up. So, as I get into this, yes, this leader has really built a school culture rooted in positivity, respect, accountability, and care for students. And I totally agree with that. Um, you're gonna know this right away when I read this part of the nomination. All right. Whether he's greeting students in the hallway, supporting staff, or leading schoolwide initiatives, he consistently demonstrates what it means to lead with heart and purpose. His famous fireside chats are more than just conversations. There are opportunities for students to reflect on character, responsibility, perseverance, and becoming better human beings. Is he even in here? He continually reminds students that success is not only measured academically, but also how we treat others and contribute to our community.
So, we appreciate all you do and and uh some of the new ideas, some of the new approaches that that you're doing and so uh uh I think I can speak for the board in that regard. I think we're all just as as happy as we can be about your performance. So, thank you. Uh Any other comments or continued business from the board? >> I got a couple things. Comment and a question. So, I'd like uh Trustee Ragland and myself, we attended the Early College High School graduation. They had that I'm I'm blessed because I get to see these students at the Ivy Tech graduation, at at their graduation, and then at their home school graduation, which is kind of unique, I think. But, I just wanted to kind of give you some numbers. Um uh the 2026 class had 33 graduates, 49 associate degrees, 49 technical certificates, four certificates, and 94 credentials.
>> Any other questions? >> [clears throat] >> I guess easy sharing secret. It's just something it's new. I have personally lived one of the very first interactive boards and so we were able to give all our concerns first and how it wouldn't automatic but we were not so low Smart as well. Wasn't just language arts language arts on there as well. It's just so important. time of learn. questions. None. I need a motion. >> I'll make a motion. I have a second. >> I'll second. >> Have a second.
But for laundry detergent in particular, um, doing uh, there's a couple of online recipes to like mix your own um, laundry detergent that can be, you know, much more simplified. I tried to use a powder detergent uh, that comes in a glass jar. It is more more expensive at times, but you use a very small amount when you're going through the laundry. I'm trying to remember what the It's like three items. I don't remember what what they are, but I could supply that list to you. Also Also, talk to Diane back there. I think she's jumping out of her seat. She's got some samples of some bulk laundry products back there. >> borax. You got a hard plastic cardboard. Yeah. And there's also like But that does have some alternative laundry stuff. What I'd [snorts] also maybe just offer up is we've got a few resources that we've been collecting as well.
So you have the the data there. That data is also in the RAM report. We just summarized the exceedances for you so you have it in convenient format. Um and the groundwater exceedances include the following compounds. We found them at four locations: MW1, 2, 3, and 5. Um MW2 is here. Um the center of the site. MW3 here is to the south. MW4, nope, that wasn't one of them. Uh and then MW5 is located up here. MW1 is located down by Main Street. Um so VOCs were found at those locations. They consist of TCE, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, vinyl chloride, uh those are the three that were identified uh beyond exceedances. >> And the second one that you said is also known as PCE, correct? Uh Uh No, that's cis-1,2-DCE. Yeah, we have TCE, cis-1,2-dichloroethylene or cis-1,2-DCE and vinyl chloride. Okay. Um and then groundwater sampling for all VOCs was substantially below MassDEP GW-3 standards.
They choose to. >> Okay, good. Great. [snorts] >> Well, thank thank you all. We're we're so um happy to see you all and very grateful that you came out tonight and thank you to your families for bringing you out tonight and taking time out of their evenings. So, and we wish you well with the rest of your school year. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. [applause] [applause] >> So cute. >> Okay. I love her. She's so cute. [laughter] [cough] [clears throat] >> Yep. Yep. That's awesome. [snorts] So Thank you. Good to Yeah. >> Okay. We move on to um our consent agenda. Dr. Sabre Maguire is recommending approval of a request from the sailing team, the Dartmouth High sailing team to participate in uh the nationals competition in Maryland. Is there anything more you want to say about that? >> I I do have something about it in my update.
Because I have clearly we can't spend down forever. I mean, it'll empty out eventually. It's been going on forever. Right. So, and you know, as much as we do trend analysis, I hate to say that is a a trend analysis that has occurred here. Which again, I know nobody likes that we've done it. But, it is a reality of the situation that we are able to sustain, maintain out of the backs I mean, really with those vacancy savings. Andy. I was just going to say we build these budgets a year in advance and then they change. And that outcome that has allowed us to sustain ourselves. And again, I've said it before, I give Greenfield credit. They use their ESSER money the right way. Which is very little with any personnel. And they use it for one-time expenses. And then even when those one-time expenses were able to then offload some of their operating but then therefore build up.
Um I think sometimes um I like to help others too much. Um and jump in um and if I see uh that someone is is struggling or needs help with something, I'm I'm quick to offer help um and sometimes have to take a step back to say perhaps the better way for them to grow is if if we did it together as opposed to my jumping in and helping um in that capacity. So, um that's something that I think this opportunity would really um help me to to grow with it as a leader. Um because in the roles that I've had, not just as a school psychologist, but PPT chair, I have been that voice and and that um support for my teams. Um and um when you hear team members talking about being strapped for time or not knowing how to do something, sometimes it's tempting to say I can help you and I know I can do it quickly, um but that isn't the way that they're going to learn.
So, I'm thinking where I'm coming from it is just a it's just intended to be very practical. So, when I was in high school, I got a lot of it either from my parents or from Danny Park. Yes. And he's he's your guy all the time. I'm so glad you remember him. He's a legend. He really was. He had a huge impact. He helped me get a a summer business camp at Norwich Free Academy. Mhm. He he suggested I apply for it. I did. I got it. It was it was fantastic. Um but I'm just wondering um when kids leave high school, they're adults. Maybe, you know, maybe not necessarily >> They're on their own. or tax fully adults, but some of the basic things for for them could be like just a checkbook. So, this this is music to my ears. Our personal finance course, and I took this out of the presentation.
Tomko. Um, so that that part of that process, uh, is going to provide some challenges. Um, we alluded to a little bit. Dr. Tomko directly mentioned the special ed piece and talking to our director, um, and our CST, we've talked about just, um, the last couple of months, the increase in numbers of students with with, um, services where we we need to prepare additional sections that we've done uh, to this point, but again, that may change. So the increases that we've already factored and budgeted for may increase moving forward. So that's something that we're going to monitor closely. It's going to be the collaboration of our child study team, our registrar, and our guidance department in terms of their placement and the work that that they do. I mean, we don't talk enough about, um, our middle school our high school guidance counselors and and the work that happens over the summer, the magic to get things um, to where it needs to be in September.
We start even when it's uncomfortable. We start even when it's unclear. We start before we feel completely ready. And when things don't go the way we hoped, we don't fall back to the beginning. We move forward with more than we had before, with experience, with resilience, and with a better understanding of who we are. So, class of 2026, start even if it feels like you're in the middle of the jungle. [applause] And now, please welcome Amphitheater governing board president, Miss Vicky Cox Golder. >> [applause] >> Good evening, class of 2026. This is a big moment. The future you have been contemplating over the past few months, maybe even seven, even years, and is probably starting to feel very real right now. What comes next? What will you do? What kind of world is your generation going to inherit and build upon? You are living in a time where change is happening faster than ever, especially when it comes to technology.
>> Does that sound better? >> Does that work? Yeah, I mean it could just be my own just interpretation of it. I don't I mean it's you know I think it is what it is. I was just I was just thinking to myself I was like I I'm I didn't I wasn't aware of any policy that we currently had that specifically focused on LGBTQ or or a lot of other things too. So it's kind of broad base. So I was I was I was a little curious about that. So >> yeah, because the other thing we could do it too is also instead of saying it this way, maybe it could also just be like explore um like the need for additional alignment or additions uh to meet those needs as well too. >> Yeah, that's yeah, I think that's uh well said. >> Will that be better?
Uh the role of the Board of Education is in governing policy. As we've said, much of our work is the best work that the board can do is through policy, continuing to review new policy amongst a million other things, but uh policy is where the the backbone of school district work gets done. Um uh managing the superintendent is a lovely task that you have in evaluating. So, through a process that you'll probably get to enjoy tonight, uh going through a performance evaluation uh of your one employee, the superintendent. And also with code of conduct, which is also part of what you'll pick up through IASB, is much of what you just swore to already. So, I won't read through the bullets. And then the role of superintendent, obviously, is is really following through with what we're putting forward as our strategic plan, the vision, the mission [clears throat] of the school district.
Oh gosh, in Men of DGN um I gosh, I I want to say at least 50 boys are involved in that, but I don't quote me on that. I need to look. [clears throat] It it it's very close It's right, I think. >> very excited about it. They asked for t-shirts, we got them t-shirts. >> [laughter] >> It's been awesome. That was great. >> It's been really cool connection for some of our kids. So, it's been they've really connected with our with our building. They help out our CMG department. They they have a couple of times have put mulch outside getting ready for different events and things that we have. Just really again that connection with the community with our school community has been really cool. They're it's it's a really neat group and they're they're super proud of it as they should be. It's pretty neat.
And so, sometimes that brought their grades down a little bit and when they were looking at that. And it was very time-consuming for our third through fifth grade teachers. >> Daniel, what are your thoughts on it? >> Thank you for asking. >> [laughter] >> Um I I actually am happy that you guys are doing this. And and here is one of the reasons why is because when we look at kids and we want them to excel in school. But having that thought of, oh, am I getting an A? Am I going to get a B? I think having it by standards is just clear for them and clear for the teacher. Um versus having elementary kids be worried about whether they're going to get an A, B, or C, whether they're going to pass. So, I like it standards-based and I think there should only be one.
And then this just winded where we could offer whole milk or 2%. Um but also added to that which I I don't think I added to this but um pre-K is another guideline where we've been only we only offer unflavored milk to pre-K students. This act will enable us to just offer unflavored milk to to kindergarten and pre-K will be included in that for next school year. With the decrease in participation and the um enrollment we are expecting it a 7 to 15% decrease in our entitlement dollars. Entitlement dollars are basically what we buy commodities with. The Healthy Hunger-Free Act from 2010 is uh still in effect and section 205 of that um the intent of it is to ensure that we have enough funds for food service for uh to account for our paid lunches and we are fairly federally mandated to uh raise the price of lunch if we're charging less than the national average for school lunches.