I could not have pictured standing here in Tucson speaking to the graduates of the school that is deaf and blind. I could not have pictured that something that felt so difficult at the time would eventually lead me to my purpose, community, and opportunity. That is why I want you to understand this. You do not have to see the whole future right now. You just have to take the next step. When I first started losing my vision, I did not know where it would lead. When I stopped playing baseball, I did not know I would find golf. When I started adaptive sports, I did not know I would represent my country. When I went to college, I did not know I'd end up at the University of Arizona working towards the future in adaptive sports. Life does not always give you the full map. Sometimes, it just gives you the next turn.
Any questions on appoint Dr. Ganie? No, hearing none, would anyone like to make a motion to approve her? All right, Kelly, second. I'll second. All in favor? I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. All right, next item is approval of resolution to extend the term of the MISBIC employee benefit pool. This is again one of those yearly things, which is odd since what we do is every year we approve a 3-year extension with the insurance. Um we are able to if we would like to um pull out of it any year, but we have to do that in December. And so what this does is it gives them the 3-years expectation so that they can get better costs for the uh programs that we have. And we have looked at it a few times in my tenure here where we've looked at whether or not we should bid out and go to a different company or even look for our own insurance and um Mizzou Vica is a very well and uh well-run organization and my recommendation is that we extend our our partnership with them for another 3 years.
I received that earlier this week were able to turn in our instructional minutes instead of number of days and that's what makes us available as state accountability has come back. This is something that we continue to watch. We do keep the waiver days until accountability rules kick back into place. So as we discuss this moving forward, we will look at another type of waiver day if we have to. Um, and we'll we'll navigate that path down the road if we need to. But for for the next school year, we do have those granted and we will put them to great use. And that's our recommended recommendation this evening. Miss Leslie has it up on the screen as well for you. >> I think it's important, Dr. Taylor, that these are student waiver days. They're they're not teacher waiver days because teachers are contracted for set amount of days.
I hope I don't get in trouble for being critical of the umpire. >> [screaming] >> As the 1-2 pitch is upstairs and away. So, two balls and two strikes here. as Eustace looks for her first 1-2-3 inning in the last two days. Sure would be nice to see if we can get one right now. Here comes. That one is a little blooper. It is going to drop, a fair ball into right field in front of in front of Sanders out there in right field. Didn't get all of it, but she just found a spot on the grass. >> Yeah, a nice a nice little placement there. Just landed fair right in front of us here by about probably 6 in right over the line. So, it does bounce in for a single. Second hit for Graf and that one shot. Collette bobbled it, but picked it up and the throw is in time.
Um if you weren't aware of this, there was a lot of uh potential legislation about required composting in schools if you had 26 tons of food waste a school year, and if you lived 20 miles within a facility, that legislation then was kind of pulled back, and so there is no um requirement at this point, but it is probably coming down down the road. So, moving on from school meals, uh just giving an update on price locks. So, we um we usually have fixed pricing for most of our energy commodities, our fuel um being one of the big ones, our electrical supply rates, but with current market conditions, we haven't been able to lock anything for next year. Our electricity lock is through October of this year, so we still have some time, but really it's it's better to lock sooner than later. We're going to hold out a a bit longer.
So, with this theme, the biggest thing that we tried to get students to take away was the fact that their ideas are the best ideas. their ideas are the ones that are going to make an impact and that they have plenty of people around them that are going to support them. So we were really lucky enough and this was something I was so impressed with when I was working with all these um ambassadors is all of them we had I think four or five club founders in our group and all of them had such great stories of that when they had an idea who they brought it to and they all had real considerable impact that is both relatable and impressive to an and inspirational to an elementary student. So I have two club founders with me today. I'm gonna introduce them and they're gonna tell you their story.
Yeah, so this is kind of a like a roundabout way to answer your question. >> It's okay. It's okay. I think that there are legitimate safety issues, and what happens is either you're having kids up on a stage where there is having splinters or you're not using the stage because it's so unsafe. So, I think that there's that issue. I think it can be worked around cuz you can just say, "Okay, stop using the stage," which is not great. Um I think that the other piece of this, the non-safety piece of this, is that there we're getting two new buildings and Dodd and Doolittle are not seeing any of that. And so, you know, older buildings that have old stages that are are not in great are kind of in a state of disrepair, like paying attention to those because the schools aren't really getting anything else Yeah.
Another local competition is in the area of computer science. There's something called a hackathon. And the hackathon brings students together and they're actually in mixed teams and they have to work hard together to solve a problem. Winners from our schools include from Granny Hills High School an individual award to Franco Ortega. And one of the on the winning team was a student from Apple Valley High School, Preston Kitchen. Remember that these competitions are judged by local industry experts and often they try to get our students jobs right there and then. They're just so skilled. Similar in medical overall MDCP medical competition first place student was from Malfell High School, Mackenzie ESL. And in this case, the team competition was won by the Granny Hills High School team of Brianna Canela, Matthew Lurley, Ever McShane, and Kayla Kaye Oriana. Another competition we love to go to, and I would love to be a judge, is Sweet Genius, where they make pastries.
As a nurse myself, I can attest to these requirements. A $1,000 scholarship is awarded to Josie French. The second uh recipient wants to be a source of care and stability to those who need it most. This candidate described a strong passion for nursing and empathy. A $1,000 scholarship is awarded to Abby Bashard. And the final recipient wants to be a Oh, the final recipient is also passionate about pursuing a nursing career. She wrote that she is interested in healthc care advocacy driven by a personal mission to ensure no one has to endure an illness in silence. A $1,000 scholarship is awarded to Delila Smith. >> Thank you. And congratulations, class of 2026. I'm Melanie Austin and it is an honor to be presenting scholarships to three deserving Pleasant Valley seniors on behalf of Chico Elks Lodge 423. We would like to congratulate tonight's recipients and each person who has helped them to get to this point in their lives.
Second. By Commissioner Bruns Diak, uh, second by Commissioner Suarez. Discussion. No? Roll call. Mr. Bruns Diak. Yes. Mr. Canova. Yes. Ms. Esters Barnes. >> Yes. Mr. Paris. Yes. Mr. Ciano. Yes, abstaining F11 check 227385. Ms. Suarez. Yes. Vice President Santiago. >> Yes. President Bassford. Yes. >> Motion carries. Okay, we're moving along pretty quick. It's 7:40. Uh, board member comments. Uh, Commissioner Ciano. Thank you so much, President Bassford. Um, couple quick things. I wasn't even going to do anything. I got a few things to go over, but, um, Power of One, amazing what you guys do. You know that. Probably the proudest partnership that I have, and it means a lot to me. And you know, you two are like family to me. And I love you, and I'll continue doing whatever I can. Um, May 14th, rough day. Um, Councilman Gibson passed away. He was without a doubt the strongest person I've ever met in my life.
Did I miss anything? That's great. No, I I appreciate the background. Do we have any indication as to when this will make it to some of the other schools? Are they going to be slated for this coming up soon or Yes, so because of the large cost and we knew this was going to be the longest project. Sure. So, that's why we went with website first >> [laughter] >> of the three big technology initiatives that we talked about. So, website will be happening as of July 1st is our goal. Um, that phones are already scheduled, pending approval tonight of course, um, to be done this summer. So, those two big projects will be finished. This will be the start and we knew this is going to be multi-year so this would cover four of the schools and then hopefully we can do another four. It'd be great to do it in two years, but just given the cost it might take three at most.
And sometimes, that next turn comes from the people who believed in you before you fully believed in yourself. That is why today is also about thanking the people around you. Graduates, think about the teachers who pushed you, the staff who supported you, the family members who drove you places, helped you study, showed up for meetings, encouraged you when things were hard, and reminded you that you could keep going. None of us get here alone. I know I did not. My family has been a huge part of my journey. My mom fought to find the answers. My family supported me through uncertainty. My grandfather became my caddy and guide, and we have shared moments on the golf course that I will never forget. And my grandma has always believed in me. Coaches, teammates, mentors, and friends have helped me become who I am. So graduates, as you move forward, do not be afraid to lean on your people.
Any questions regarding the extension of the benefit pool? And if anybody would like to make a motion to approve that. I'll make the motion. Thank you. Lisa, second? Second. Thank you. Noreen? Oh, I'm sorry. Andrew, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking. Roll call, please. Riddick? Yes. Corey? Yes. Moyer? Yes. Simkin? Yes. Search? Yes. Moyer? Yes. Schumacher? Yes. All right. Letter F is the first reading of the word policy press issue 121. Seems we get rid of one, we get another coming through the pipe, so. >> Pretty much. They're coming out hard and heavy right now. Um I'll be honest with you, I've not looked at them. I will look at them during the time between this month and next month's meeting and send you out what my thoughts and concerns are. Um but I would advise at this time that we approve the first reading. Adam, what do you think on that one?
And so these are just for the students. Our our staff will still work. Correct. I like the idea of two days for the staff. >> Yeah, >> it's just I like that they can have their time in their classroom but also their meetings and get a lot out of the way before students at the building. >> That's one of the things that we heard from our teachers and guiding coalition when we talk about this is that was one of their requests. So, you know that this is meets the teachers where they ask us to be. >> Good. That's a great point and I appreciate you bringing that up, Dr. Long. We did work with the guiding coalition on this particular topic. We worked actually multiple meetings with them on future calendars and that's something we are going to bring back in in next school year.
A beautiful play there by Collette to keep her eye on the ball as it popped out. >> That's a really nice play by Lorelei. That ball came out hot. She gets it on the hop, bounces in her glove. She's able to keep control, make a nice throw over to Casadian for the third out of the inning. That's the second assist of the inning there for Lorelei, who's matching her hot hitting with a pretty good glove so far today. She's doing it all. They call it a five-tool player. We'll we'll we'll we'll we'll we'll give her at least a couple tools right now. She she certainly has been playing well. The way that she's hitting the ball and and if if you can have somebody making good plays on hot shots over there at third base, then you could be in good shape. And it's a really a tough position to play specifically in softball because that ball comes at you really hot sometimes.
We're talking to our energy brokers about the market and we're hopeful we can lock by June 30th, but things really just haven't improved in the past few months. And so, um we're working with the town, we're working with our energy brokers, but I just wanted to give you that update cuz I think around this time this year it's it's usually more locked in and it's it's not at this moment. Um for facilities, we are going to talk about facilities a few times this evening. Um but what I'm going to talk about right now is we finally have all the snow removal costs for this school year in all the invoices are in at a $360,490, which is significantly above the $170,000 that was budgeted. Uh we had a really challenging year with snow as did everyone. Um and we had 20 snow removal events in fiscal year 2027.
So, with that, I'll hand it over to Mave and Sydney. >> Hello. So, basically, um, my sister and I had an idea a couple years ago. Um, and there's this program called Morgan's Message, which Morgan's Message is a nonprofit organization that helps eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health and student athletes. So, we didn't have um Morgan's message at Treasure High School, but knew it's a national um program that is very um big and we wanted to bring to the Treasure High School to um let um students know that they belong and um that mental health matters. So, it started with my sister and I that we brought to one of our teachers, Miss Trone. Um it started with her. She helped us bring it to our principal and now it's a huge um club at our high school that we host many um dedication games and club meetings that Sydney is going to start to talk about more club meetings.
No, I totally get that. I do think that's extremely important, particularly for Doolittle more so than Dodd. Dodd is the whole town. Everybody's treated equally there. Yeah. >> Um, Doolittle's not and I've heard uh that the property values are uh diverging depending on the elementary school districts. I don't know if that's true. That's what I've been told and I find it to be perfectly reasonable, believable. So, I totally get that. Um, anyway, my simple point is just to uh offer up uh it be prepared um if the council asks about something like sound system, that's a safety issue. Yeah. Yeah, and I think that there's a reality that we approve something and then, like last year, we asked to sharpen our pencils and we have to think about which of these are we going to prioritize in a plan, right? Um, cuz we knocked it we cut it in half last year by the time we got to the town council, beyond what the board had approved.
Overall winner, the Apple Valley High School team of four, Alejandra Kal Guzman, Naveen Corona, Khloe Pina, and Leilani Roacho. In the area of the arts, there's also the MDCP MDCP photography competition. Absolutely beautiful images produced this year. best in show for the area. We all who went to the film festival got to see it displayed was from Alpha Valley High School, Bri McGlinty in construction. Several teams competed, many from uh local schools, several from our schools. the first place overall of all the teams that were there. Team of four from Apple Valley High School. Walker Moore, Diego Chira Sanchez, Ryan Mayo, and even Ivan Ramirez. The MDCP film festival allowed us to award students who participated in in the area of competitive capture and they were actually at these events. So the students are sent to the welding competitions to the construction competitions to take video.
Within the Oaks organization, one of the programs we are most proud of is supporting the academic successes of our high school students in the form of scholarships. This year, the Elks have issued 24 scholarships for the surrounding high schools, including the three we are presenting tonight. It gives me a great pleasure to recognize the following recipients. Olive Ernest Josie French and Campbell Woods. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Lauren Green. The art department has been incredibly fortunate to partner with Sunrise Rotary here in Chico. This partnership has provided our students with meaningful real world design experience and Sunrise Rotary has generously generously created scholarships to recognize some of our standout seniors. At its core, Rotary is built around service, community, and giving back with a strong focus on education and our youth. This year, we selected students who truly embody those values. Students who are community-minded, collaborative, and who use their creativity and problem solving skills to positively impact others.