It was just basically if the bottom falls out of something, we have to be able to protect things. It's kind of a similar strategy for this. Um, and so like I said, you will see a higher levy on there, but that is just preliminary at this point. So, just just a protection um for us to explore. The other thing that you will have in your packet in your folder um I am providing you some updated slides. I know we had talked again about the 40 cent rate and you guys had seen that and these can be for you to take with you. You will see a strategic rate that is listed on there and what that does the 40 cent again would just be what would be the max rate every year you as the board would approve whatever the rate was going to be.
So um thank you and appreciate you all. have a good summer. >> Okay, you guys um really appreciated the talk that came in this year. It was its usual inspirational time with some some of the students struggling to to keep from getting teeyed with with their just the way they honestly felt. It was an emotional but it was it was good because it was themselves and it was the usual very good evening. Um, congratulations in a blanket sense to all the uh, high school senior awards winners and all the programs that the different parts of the teaching areas have been put on. Thank you PTO for working on changes for the students supplies and you rock. um appreciation to uh the contractors working across the road. Uh wow, you know how good that that site looks over there as far as the the progress on it.
I I kind of look at it in three categories. We got stuff everybody sees on the inside of the building. Waterloo had a great facelift. We have brand new school at Buckhorn We got the band program with all that amazing equipment. We got all this new furniture, peanut balls, and carpet. And we got the stuff you can't see in the building. That's the boring stuff. That's like when you get your oil changed. It's you know, they they tell you all the other stuff to do. $29.99 and then you end up costing $419.99 because of the oil filter, transmit You know how that all works. But this is the boring stuff. The roofs, the HVAC, the the controls. Um And what are controls for? Well, people like Greg Gauldin can be at home and adjust our air conditioning so we're nice and cool tonight. Or there's a basketball game and it's particularly hot or humid in in the wintertime or a volleyball game in August.
Mack Whitwer scores her second goal of the game but that's a good job by I don't know who that Was it 23? 22? I think it's Yeah, that plastic. She does a good job. That's the second time. Looked like she got a a stick on uh Mack Whitwer on that one. The last 8-m she looked like she knocked that out of McKechnie's stick. Nevertheless, the Spartans up. Should be four to two. Yep. Oh goodness. There's some scoreboard troubles here but Yes. Who scored that last You remember who scored that other goal for Chog? I don't. Sergentko. We'll give it to Oh yes. Yeah, I believe cuz she had Was it the eight? attempt? >> 8-m yes. >> Yeah, so little tough time with the scoreboard today. I'm sure we'll hear a bunch of the Minnechaug fans yelling and this time it's the official turning around and telling what the score is supposed to be.
Thank you very much. Next on the list is a NASA update. Donald Wlette, um lette manufacturing teacher will update the district committee on NASA. >> Good evening everybody. Uh thank you for having me here tonight. [clears throat] I have a fresh update from NASA. As you all know, um, two years ago, we were able to manufacture some space flight parts that, uh, were sent out to the International Space. >> Don, can you turn the mic on, please? >> Yes, sir. I'm sorry. >> There you go. >> Thank you. Sorry about that. >> Uh, on May 6th, which was about a week and a half ago, uh, Mr. Bill uh Gibbons from Gibson, excuse me, from uh NASA uh came and visit us and he was to do an audit on the parts that we've done so far this year. Uh was very excited about the parts that we have done and um we are going to ship NASA 25 more pieces on Tuesday that are going to the uh they're going to Houston at the Johnson uh Space Center.
Um those need to get done, but outside of those energy recovery units, the middle school's a pretty solid school. Okay. Uh other members of the Yeah, probably if I did the one with the mic. Uh other members of the subcommittee of the advisory committee, do you have questions for Mr. Bedard? Um >> [clears throat] >> I'm guessing I I'm summing Let me see if this is the right kind of summary that we're all pretty much okay, but in the next 10 to 15 years we're going to have some major costs come our way that are going to be in avoid unavoidable, but perhaps we can stagger them down the line and keep things chugging along. Is that what I'm hearing that we're in good shape, but we've got things looming in a decade or so? Absolutely. You know, and that could be part We typically do a three to five-year capital plan, but you could actually um seeing you have more buildings and a bigger a bigger uh load down the road, you could do a 10 and 15-year on top of it.
But this the administration, which everyone is saying is hot-headed, and that's how you're responding to the taxpayers. So, for all of you that took notes and listened attentively, you need to talk to your higher-ups for the example one that they're setting, and two, for the behavior. Appreciate that. Thank you. Okay. Good job. We have some uh Yeah, we're going to go We're going to go online now. So, those folks that don't want to speak, if you just begin raising your hand and we'll get to you one at a time. So, Aubrey's at the top of my list, so I'm going to wait to allow Aubrey to talk. The mic is open, Aubrey. Do we have any board members on the line? Sorry, I would think so. Yeah, Aubrey is on. We should I hear him muscle sign. Aubrey, can you hear me? Okay. Can you hear me?
The award for excellence in Spanish goes to Susita. [applause] >> [applause] >> At this time, I would like to introduce to you Mr. Tom Lee Walk, the chairperson of the career and technical education department.
Parents, family members, and friends, our graduates were notified earlier to meet you at your vehicle after the ceremony. As you exit the stadium, please remember to take all belongings with you. Thank you again for being here and supporting us today. And now, it is my great honor to give a final farewell to the class Cypress High School class of 2026. >> [cheering] >> Graduates, congratulations. May today be a celebration of the chapter behind us and the start of the chapter ahead. Thank you all and have a wonderful day. >> [cheering] [music] >> Hooray! Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray!
PHOTO. THE LAST ONE, I THINK. I HOPE. >> [laughter] [applause] >> All right, we are going to take a couple of minute break. So, about 5 minutes. So, feel free to get a drink of water and I will pause for 5 minutes and be right back. Thank you. >> Mhm. >> Anything to share this evening? Going to take that as a yes. >> Let's get this out of the way now. Yes, you can take a picture with me after I'm done. >> [laughter] >> Fine. I did my hair just for the occasion. Um there's a lot of uh shout-outs and uh thank yous, congratulations based off of the past like 25 minutes there. Um but in particular, uh Diane Chad named me. Thanks for representing our district. Uh and I want to say welcome to Lizette and uh Josh as well. Uh on their positions for next year.
So, it can sometimes be a little bit less, but it does take uh the estimate is 5 months. Okay, thank you. I guess I have I still have mixed feelings on this because um I right now we've got CEA and CSEA locked into contracts. And we really kind of still don't know the budget fall out from the CE EA. So, even if they tell us that our certified staff is underpaid by five we can't do anything cuz we're at our limit and we're in a four-year contract. Uh so we really still have our central administrative staff >> Mhm. Um our administrative assistants It's it's the 12-month employees. The administrative assistants most of them would actually be part of the salary study, but the 12-month employees which are the entire admin center as well as the technology staff. Yeah. And I I think we we know that we're lacking in those salaries.
And so I asked them to put in a strategic rate line for us that would show us basically being able to kind of stay steady of where we want to be and how that rate might change each year. And again, these are projections based upon what we think the AV is going to do. So I wanted to be able to provide that to you today. Again, this is justformational for you at this point, but it kind of goes off of some of the the conversations that we've had around that.
I mean, I started on board 10 years ago. I heard about it, but I never saw anything until for reasons beyond Orb's control. So good. It is it was really nice to see this. And my last comment is to point the sponsorship of this morning's bus drivers for school bus drivers books. First people to see the children in the morning. They go out and go dark 30 and prepare their buses, inspect them and take off on their last year, then come back and pick them up. to the last season what they do the way they do. >> That's it. Good. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. It's always welcome even though we can agree to disagree. With that we are ajourned.
Third thing is our outside things that we see, our exterior. That's our doors, our windows. A lot of projects coming up for that. Of course, our extracurricular and co-curricular facilities that are just looking great as well. So I feel really good that we the board, the administration has touched on all three of those areas for our students and community. I was going to wait till miscellaneous, but I think when people drive in and I know at my house mowing is a high priority even though no [clears throat] one sees my house. But I love driving in and seeing all the nice lines in the grass. I know that coming in and mowing when there's 6 in of water and 20% of the ground. So, I I I love the grounds crew that's working their butt off. I know the new mower has helped a lot, but you know, this time of year we're all busy.
Funny thing is this time I don't hear anybody from Minnechaug yelling at the Spartans for the scoreboard when they they like it when it's three to three. They don't like it when it's four to two. Not all Not all the Minnechaug fans. >> [laughter] >> I know, in the book that's all that matters. Yeah. Everybody knows what the score is going to be. Having a little fun here with the Minnechaug fans, of course. Some of them. Funny how that works out, but we're all fixed. We're ready. >> Minnechaug fans can take jokes, unlike the Longmeadow fans. So, we're all settled with the scoreboard. Mac Whitworth and Taylor back up on the draw. I think we're a little too close in the Minnechaug section to be saying that out loud. >> yeah. It's all right. Ah, nobody will say anything. >> Yeah, no one. I'm with you.
Um after his visit here he had reached out to me by email. Um as you know after the election a lot of places one like NASA they lost a lot of funding. Uh they were able to attain some of that funding [snorts] and they asked us if we would do an internship this summer um making more space flight hardware. Out of the 268 schools that the NASA hunch works with, they have chosen just us. There's four people that are going to actually work this summer. Two in Huntsville, Alabama, and two right here at Greater Lawrence Tech. So what we [clears throat] did was with my colleagues in our um in our shop is uh we have gone ahead and we have actually hired um a sophomore student uh from the class of 2028. Uh Max is here with us tonight. He's here with his family.
So, do your three and five-year capital plan, you could add a uh a 10 and 15 and and start spacing that stuff across. So, you So, I'll just use a number. You're doing $200,000 a year of upgrades every other year taking you out 15 could be a good way to approach it. Mm. This is really good to know since our purview is long-term use. Um and it almost sort of helps us see why maybe maybe a new elementary school that's built in 15 years could you know, is a good plan. Um I really appreciate you coming here and I'm not sure when your last day is, but I wish you all of best of luck and I thank you for all your wisdom and making time this morning to tell us all about this. But and I did have one question. I am sorry. I'm not quite fully awake.
Yes. Okay. Yes, sir. Okay, okay. We got you now. Lee Bart Drive. Good evening, members of the board. Thank you for the time and effort you've put into this process. I attend most of your meetings. Um I'll be at virtually, and I recognize that the work that you put in begins months ago, many months ago. I also understand that public participation during that process is often minimal. And it can be frustrating to hear concerns now at the end that the budget is too high. But respectfully, this pattern's not new. It happens every year, and because it happens every year, it shouldn't be dismissed. It should be recognized as a consistent message from the community. Um a 5:00 meeting to discuss um you know, the cuts on the eve of a on the heels of the failed referendum, I don't think is ideal for the public participation.
[applause] Good evening everyone. I'm honored to present four awards this evening. And overall, no one can argue that all the students sitting in this room are staying out in the classroom, the playing fields in the community of Chester at large. But for career and technical education, we want to recognize students that demonstrate something different, something in terms of creativity and problem solving. The epitome of what Chester Public Schools is teaching the classrooms we get to have fun with every day. We like that drive when solutions don't work out. When the math makes sense on paper and the concepts are there, but it doesn't work out. And time and time again, we see those students who strive to go above and beyond, to think outside the box, to make different choices, different thinking, different ways of trying to solve problems. For our first recipient tonight, I'd like to recognize a person for a technology education award who has done just that in the classroom.
Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! Hooray! >> [music] >> Hooray! >> [music] [music] >> All right, let's go and do it again. Let's just go. Let's go. Here you From the top again, please. From the top. >> [music] [music] >> Woo! >> [music] >> Woo! >> [music] [music] >> Woo! Woo! >> [music] [music] >> Woo! >> [music] [music] >> Woo! >> [music] [music] >> Second time. Second time. >> [music] [music] >> Second time. >> [laughter] >> All right, so now that you're standing up I'm going to trick you into kicking. Mhm. So, pull up. Standing over there. All right, so >> Mhm.