001[music] Hey. >> [music] >> Heat. Hey, Heat. Heat. Heat. N. [music] [music] Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. N. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [music] Hey, [music] hey, hey. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. N. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Friday is company. Heat. [music] Hey, heat. Hey, heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> I got it. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. [music] [music] Heat. Heat. Hey, Heat. [music] [music] >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. N. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Good evening. I would like to call the meeting to order and acknowledge that the Tom Water School District sits on the ancestral land of the Niswali Swatson Island and people. I thank these caretakers of the land who've lived on and continue
002to live on the land since time in memorial. Please rise as I lead us in the bright salute. Superintendent Fogatin, have there been any changes or additions to the agenda since it was published? >> No changes or additions to the agenda. All those in favor of approving the agenda, please say I. I. >> I. >> All right, we'll move on to the meeting minutes review. The minutes from the September 25th meeting have been distributed to the board. Are there any changes or corrections? Seeing none, all those in favor? I >> I minutes are approved as presented. We'll now move on to consent agenda. Items on the consent agenda have been provided to the board. Any questions or discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I. >> Consent agenda is approved. Move on
003to recognition. Superintendent Berson. >> Yes. So today I just um October is principal appreciation month. And so I just wanted to take a moment and maybe our board and our student representatives are here today. um take a moment to recognize the incredible leadership and dedication for our Tom Water district principles and assistant principles. Every day they bring our new strategic plan to life. They work tirelessly to ensure our students are safe, they're supported, they're empowered, and that they've experienced academic growth, that they're prepared for a changing world. Their work their work is both complex and essential. They balance instructional leadership, school culture, student well-being, community tension, community connections. Simply put, they are the backbone of our schools. Tonight, we're especially proud to recognize one of our very own Kim Dowy principal Peter G. Schmidt Elementary
004was recently named yesterday. The AWSP Elementary principal of the year. And so, she is this is a well-deserved honor, a reflection of Tim's exceptional leadership, the commitment to equity, her positive impact that she's had on her staff, students, and communities. Um yesterday, I got to be at her school where they surprised her at a big assembly. Um they somehow kept her away for the first half hour as kids came into the building and kind of back into the meeting room and brought her in and all the students were cheering for her and a whole bunch of other state leaders and a bunch of our team members to to give her that. There's a nice big banner that's not in that picture, but there'll be a banner at the school that says it's the home of
005the Washington State of the Year. Um so again, not just to Kim, but to all of our principal and school leaders, thank you for um what you bring to this work and what you model every day and we are stronger because of you. So I I would just like our principles to stand up. We have cookies that we're going to just kind of pass around here. And so maybe um Ben and Megan can maybe help share spread some cookies out to. And while that's happening, so I'll have our principal stand a little recognition. I know Kim is out here. Thank you. And I guess I'll like this part of the recognition. I'll just open it up for the rest of the board if you want to say anything about recognition. Principal I'll say something real
006quick. I I see two of them here that I reached out to recently just to give them a heads up on situation with the student and they both responded quickly and promptly and very caringly. So Liz and Cameron, thank you very much recently. Just quick out of all the things that you guys do, that's just one small thing recently. I want to thank uh so I've been able to visit a number of the schools and I'm sure I'm interrupting their day when I show up but I thank you uh but I just really appreciate this is a hard job right now to be a principal and you guys are doing you're showing kids love showing staff And I'm just really happy. >> That is all I have for them. Um, I appreciate them being here.
007It was really supposed to be when they invited not only for appreciation, but I knew that that Skinda was getting this award a while ago and so I was hoping that she'd be here. be able to celebrate her clothing if she's not able to make it tonight. But I do appreciate the rest of you being here and what you're doing. Not that it was not that it wasn't important to you, but it was a there was some purpose around inviting you to tonight's meeting didn't quite get pulled off quite the way we expected, but you were still pursuing. So I don't think I know you're all busy and have late nights. You're not expected to say for the remainder of the meeting if you want. So, if you want to quietly exit, this is the
008time. >> Yeah. Don't don't have to ask twice. >> The first one out. First one out. >> Yeah. This is this is the perfect chance for you to exit stage left. >> Thank you guys for being here. Appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> All right. So, next we are going to move on to Student rep reports. This is exciting. This is our first meeting of this school year where we have our new student reps. So, uh what we do is we provide a question uh to each of our student reps to uh talk through with their peers. And the question for October is regarding school safety, which is in what ways does students feel emotionally safe and respected at school? Are there particular spaces, times, or situations where students feel more vulnerable or excluded? And
009so, uh, what we'll do at this time is we'll just turn it over to our students. Whichever one of you would like to go first, if you want to go ahead and introduce yourself and then, uh, share what you have to share. >> Hello, I'm Cooper Brady. Um, the report I have, the way the students feel emotionally safe and respected is when they find the people they admire respond to the same treatment. Kind of like the saying, treat people how you want to be treated. It a student mindset that can carry into the future. Having a mindset of a yes and instead of a yes but can change the environment completed into a space where they feel comfortable. I put out a form to the students of Cascadia with the feedback I received that shows
010that there were a few students that had these problems but the problems were student to students agreed that they felt very respected and safe. In my experience, I've acknowledged the fact that there have been places in school where students have felt excluded. It is mainly based on teachers and students availability and their personal space to accept the help. A lot of students want the help, friends or support, but in some way don't know how to start. There are nearly two more people who reach out because these connections will influence how we see the world and break into life. In this survey, the responses lean more towards the positive. There are a few who are expressed that they have felt excluded at Cascadia, but when talking about vulnerable, there's no, I'm Drew and I'm the student
011for Black Hills High School this year and I uh asking around in my school, usually the consensus was that they felt pretty uh safe at the school, which is good. Specifically, they feel uh average student feels safest in classrooms or other staff supervised areas. And obviously uh the deeper connection or like how positive connection they have with that staff member um is a positive correlation with how safe they feel. If they would feel unsafe with a staff member, they would feel unsafe in that environment and vice versa. But usually uh students feel pretty safe with staff members that open. Uh I've noticed that peers are more vulnerable during unscheduled times like in lunch or like club times where there's uh where you have to find like people to talk to or people to sit with
012uh like by yourselves. So unless they have like any any like friend groups or anyone that they can uh converse with, they generally feel more unsafe than they would if they were in the, you know, in the classroom. >> Uh, next, students are usually the most vulnerable in bathrooms. I've heard this a lot um for all three of my years I've been at Black Hills. uh due to several factors. Mostly I heard that it was other students who were like, you know, goofing off in the bathroom and just trying to skip class or like just doing stuff that they really weren't supposed to, which just made it really hard for the people who actually wanted to use the bathroom for what it's for. And then finally, um club activities during lunch and the new bathroom
013pass system, which has made uh like uh the bathroom safer, I guess. has been helpful from what I've heard and they're a step in the right direction, but obviously more help is always good. >> Good evening. My name is Courtney Sackman and I'm here on behalf of CHS's student body to share share some feedback about how students feel regarding safety and respected school. Based on the survey that I advertised to my student body, many students seem to feel very emotionally safe and respected at school. Especially when we have supportive teachers, coaches, and friends who listen and understand our concerns. Having trusted adults we can go to like counselors or spec specific teachers makes a huge difference. It is crucial to have teachers and other staff members that create a safe learning environment, encourage questions, and
014show care for our mental and emotional health. Students also express their appreciation for clubs and classroom spaces where we can share our opinions freely without desert or judgment. For some students, feeling emotionally safe also means having physical spaces that can affect their beliefs, such as gender specific locker rooms or areas where they feel comfortable being themselves. At the same time, students shared that emotional safety isn't always consistent. While many feel comfortable in hallways or with their peers, others said that safety and respect can vary depending on the classroom or particular social space. Large gatherings such as assemblies can make certain students feel vulnerable or overlooked, so it's easy to feel lost in a large crowd. Others said that they uncomfortable and unfamiliar classes or when socializing with people that they don't know, but also agreed
015that sometimes situations like that can help lead us to grow and strengthen our social skills. On a similar note, several students in the survey expressed many concerns about locker rooms and bathrooms, particularly when it comes to the topic of sharing those spaces with people who don't align with their gender. Quite a few students who responded to my survey stated that it makes them feel extremely uncomfortable knowing that there is a potential for running with students who are not biologically When it comes to solar these particular issues, students had several thoughtful suggestions. Students felt that the need to include privacy and safety in places like locker room should be a priority. The survey filled out by students also expressed how important it is to keep building including free clubs, activities, and opportunities to help students connect.
016The strong opinion was kindness and respect. Going back to school, saying, "Treat others the way you want to be treated." And making sure that students and staff respond quickly and consistently to any reports of bullying or harassment, no matter how small, no matter who the student is. Finally, students also continue to existing rules like addressing things as common as skipping class and bathrooms as well as supporting a culture where everyone's opinion should be expressed respectfully even though we may disagree with one another. In summary, students just overall want to where they can where every student can feel safe, heard and valued an educational environment built on mutual respect, understanding and compromise. >> Great job for your first app. All right, we are now going to move on to public comment. Before we begin, I'd like
017to remind members of the public that if you wish to have addressed the board during the public comment portion of this meeting, you would have needed to fill out the public comment form available on the district website by 9:00 a.m. today. If you miss this opportunity, you're welcome to sign up for the next regular board meeting or email your comments to the board andor superintendent. Contact information is on the district website. Before we move on to our speakers signed up for today, uh we have a couple comments you like to share. >> Yeah, thank you president. I I want to start before we begin. That's our official public comment to offer an public apology to DJ Glimer, the president of Delar Education Association. Due to district error, DJ was provided incorrect information about the format
018of our last board meeting, which resulted in unable to deliver his planned remarks. That comment was meant to highlight the positive collaboration that between the association and the district and it's truly unfortunate that that opportunity was lost. But DJ, I sincerely apologize for the miscommunication how that moment was experienced to the hurt and frustration that it caused and I remain committed to strengthening our partnership and collaboration moving forward. >> And I would also like to um offer an apology um in that that meeting. Um we I was uh I was admittedly frustrated by the the miscommunication that had happened. It wasn't the first time and so um kind of let my guard down and was showing that frustration and I understand that that might have reflected poorly on um the situation and perhaps folks might
019have thought that my frustration was being directed towards Mr. Bry which is absolutely not the case. Um the only excuse I have is I'm just I'm just tired but that's not an excuse um to uh dropped my my level of professionalism. So, I do apologize for that. I recognize and and I certainly appreciate how um it was handled afterwards, bringing it to my intention. And while that obviously was not my intent, um the impact was was, you know, poor and so I do want to offer an apology for that as well. All right. Now, we will move on to our uh submissions. Becky, please receive some submissions. Hello and uh thank you for committing me to speak today. Um my name is Courtney Brown. Um, as indicated, um, I am a mother of, uh, one
020student in the Tom Water, uh, and he goes to, uh, Michael P. Simmons across the street, and I am also the mother of a child who will eventually go to Michael P. Simmons across the street. Um, but he is just a one-year-old right now, um, at home. Uh, anyways, uh, last Friday, uh, the Tom Water School District social media team posted a very sweet tribute to, uh, LGBTQ history month on its Facebook page. Um, as a United States uh, Navy veteran that served before, during, and after Don't Ask Don't Tell, I thought this was a really lovely post full of informative, and optional activities for Tom Water students and staff. And I made a comment um on the post stating as much. Within the hour, I was called a pedophile groomer that should not be
021around children, a man brought to you by the We Can Always Tell, um, mentally ill, and a series of other slurs and insults. By Monday morning, the post was deleted. All the fun activities and knowledge that those students could have parttook in was gone. I know why this happened. Um, people that are running for the school board um that or that hope to join it have outsourced our election to national social media personalities who thrive on this culture war. I later found out that the post was shared on X and other right-wing platforms to maximize hateful comments and rhetoric. Um, and let me be clear. I am, as previously stated, a Navy veteran. You're going to have to get up earlier than that to offend me. I don't care what was said about me. They're
022clearly not true. Um, but my two children in the Tom Water School District would rely on my employment status and the school district replies relies on my property taxes to stay funded. I do have to stay employed. And we know how crazy people get on the internet and how they go back to your employers and crazy things. So, what I am proposing is a pretty common sense idea to keep the school district social media page a little bit cleaner of polls. Right now, comments are currently off on the on the Facebook page for the Tom Water School District. And I understand the logic. I honestly kind of agree with it until the election is over. But, uh afterwards, I suggest kind of similar to a buy nothing page if anybody has ever been on one
023of those before. Um, I changed my address once and I was gone out of that group and uh put into the other one uh within the hour. Um, I recommend that we limit the comment section to people that are members of the Tom Water School District community page and we limit membership to people that are local to the community, the Tom Water community. It's not going to stop all of the trolls, but I would like to know that if someone's going to call me a pedophile groomer, that they're my neighbor and that neighbor is not going to get any extra eggs when my ducks lay eggs. And I know what business is to patron from from that point on. And I just want to tone down the rhetoric and, you know, tone down the noise
024and hold our neighbors a little bit more accountable. Thank you. Thank you. Another I'm Catherine and life is lifing. And I almost wasn't going to come, but I'm here. I'm going to do what I can. I have some structure and I also might fall off of it, but I'll get out what I can. Um, again, my name is Catherine. I'm here tonight to speak about laws, policies, and our values that already make clear that public education in Washington State is meant for every student in an environment where they can thrive. I share a perspective from a parent of a recent graduate, an engaged community member, alumni, previously served as a par sub in the district. Um, as well as led some equity work in the district for a couple years. Uh, we know there's plenty
025of state laws, OSPI policy laws, district policy laws, 3210, 3211. Um, speaking to the board, you guys know what I'm talking about. That's really what I'm here for. Uh, I want to address some of the concerns that have been raised in our community about trans students. Side note, I was present at the rally that took place outside of Kater Middle School and that contains a lot of our local um, you know, community members, whether it's students, parents, anyone else. Um, I was only there for a brief moment. Happened to be when everything happened. But, uh, locker rooms and restrooms. I was going to go somewhere else, but I really like what Courtney was saying about, you know, there's a way to talk and compromise and come to some way. Our locker rooms could be converted
026to a way that there's individual dressing rooms and their co-ed, whether that room is all the way opened up and it's not an enclosed room. There's ways we could talk and make it so there's individual changing rooms where our genitalia is not an issue. Um, second, sports participation. Let's play by testosterone levels. It's a little fingerprint. It's less invasive than knowing someone's genitalia. So testosterone levels is one of the concerns in being able to play. So it's really easy to just adjust how we do sports because our public schools are meant to serve everyone which um our Washington inter Scholastic Activities Association has clear guidelines for probably is really familiar especially after all this stuff in spring. Um parents right communication. I know around trans students there's those concerns. um with medical and we already
027know that our parent or our our school staff cannot medically treat or take any student to get medically treated. They can refer them to a specific kind of professional. Um I really think we should be focusing on what are the issues in Tom Water School District uh class size, staff cuts, transportation challenges, and mental health support and having more students being able to come to the table and be able to find a way that students can be supported in our district and able to thrive. My student was removed from the district and was not able to thrive in this district and is why I got involved in the equity work. Um, and I don't see any equity work listed on your guys's website right now either. So, um, that's all I have to say in
028a little rough way, but I'm really glad to see these students here and, um, trying to come to the table and talk and thank you guys for your time. >> Thank you. We are now going to move on to reports to the board and we'll have Ben American present a budget status update. >> Good evening board and a special good evening to our new student board reps. This will be a shorter presentations because next month is the full year end report. Um so I'll spend uh less time this evening and then there's a pretty substantial report at the at the November meeting just so you're aware. Um there's really two uh for the benefit of our student reps for just a second. Um the way we do this is uh there's a monthly financial report
029that we do that reports on expenditures and revenues and fund balancing in all five of our funds. There's five funds, but most of the focus is on the general fund because the general fund accounts for most of the teachers and staff that serve you every first going to take a quick look at enrollment. And we have enrollment for you through October. Let's start with the graph above. Um what the graph above is showing you if you can see it that dark blue line um showing the relationship of September to October for this year as compared to the three previous years. As you can see we're up in October, but you can see we're always up in October, right? So, it's following the same curve and and we're down we're down both relative to the last
030three years in enrollment. Um, but we're also down uh relative to budget. Um, you know, it's going to be another month before we can really take a serious look at those running start figures. Um, but a good number to zone in right now is to compare that K12 line there that's second to the bottom. And if you compare budget to October, that number is down to 68 for two months. We're also going to take a quick look at um the status of the uh general fund. And this is these are results through the end of September. A couple of key facts. The first is ended September with a fund balance of $873,000, but we ended with a cash balance of $279,000. So that's a very very low cash balance for the general fund. Um, as
031you'll recall in our recovery plan that we talked about last January, we knew that we were going to have to take out a mutual fund loan again this year. Wanted to do so uh again this year. So you will see that resolution here probably next month. Um, but for a lesser amount, and so, you know, we we will continue to have these months. We were able to make payroll in September, but we will certainly continue to have months where we rely upon that loan uh to meet our operational obligations. Um, you will get a full briefing on the close of last year. But just to give you a couple tidbits, um the fund balance came in right around 3.4 million for the year and cash came in right about.7 million and both of those were
032just about where we thought we were going to be. So um in this report we've included um the same monthly updates for the capital projects fund, the debt service fund, the and the associated student body fund and the transportation vehicle fund. I don't see anything particularly noteworthy at this time for a September activity that's uh worth any additional presentation but happy to answer any questions. That completes my presentation unless there are questions. >> One quick question. Um, you said we're likely to vote on a loan that's going to be less than previous years. If I remember correctly, there's no more interest on loans for the new law. That's correct. >> Um, is there any risk if we get a little too low on might have to take out a second one? I mean, there's no
033And there's no should we just take up I guess what I'm getting at. Should we just take up the same amount? >> Yeah, I have a spine of that. We had plan to do that. I don't know if you remember the board discussion maybe four months ago about this very topic in which there was an interest in showing a lower amount just to be able to show that we've made some progress. Um to your point, it's not going to make a ton of difference either way. And from a staff perspective, we just didn't take out the same amount because it's not going to to your point, it's not going to make any difference. We were trying to be responsible. >> I'm just staff. I'm just here to follow directions. So, uh, we will bring you
034a resolution um with a slightly lower loan amount because that was the original direction. We can change it, but it's frankly it's not a real high stakes thing because we're going to bring you a number that we're pretty confident we're not, you know, we're not gonna fake I do. Yeah, we were thinking like 3.2 million or something. So, you know, we're hopeful that I did want to put it on the record that we are going to do this because I didn't want to surprise you when it shows up. So, that's likely going to show up next month. >> Any other questions from the board members? Okay, thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> All right, we're now going to move on to action items and we'll have Mel Murray, director of capital projects, present
035on the Black Hills High School baseball field. >> Thank you. The athletic director at Black Hills High School first brought this to my team last year. And after some questions, we quickly convened a meeting between both Nelson and Gordon at Come High School with the city staff and some departments that they have on things like this change in surface in a field. And so one year later, they've got a lot of things including whether you do the design storm drainage to the city's satisfaction has been permitting and they have a contractor on board who is highly competent in the role. This is a addressing the hight traffic areas of a baseball field third baseline the pitcher mound and the batter home plate area I see it as a way for us to kind of test
036drive this concept for free to see if it works and maybe entire baseball and softball the girls basketball field at black coast high school is is highly upgraded and that's part of the of the football soccer. So they have much nicer facilities right now boys. This has also helped with our grounds crew in that there's much striking to do because they're already so football field soccer field about every two weeks baseball field one a week. So we see this as a win-win and we really >> you have any questions for me? >> Thanks for addressing the softball field. So it doesn't >> not in my opinion. >> Yeah. So I've got quite a bit of baseball um history. Uh I'm also kind of pretty knowledgeable. I know some people um I have some concerns. First
037off, I want to say I think this is great to be able to have donations and get this all lined up. Fantastic. I'd like to move forward in some way with this for sure. I don't want to take my critique as any kind of a negative on the overall project here, but if anybody that knows anything about turf uh and baseball fields, you want to minimize your transitions between um this is very cut up. I I I don't think this is a very good idea. I would say, and I know that they're doing this because this is the donation they got. This is all that they're capable of doing with the amount of money they have. Um, I would like to see the school district maybe be willing to match the donation and serve the
038entire community and have one transition. Um, I think you're you're not getting rid of the maintenance of the dress. You're not getting rid of the maintenance of the dirt on the going to have to break or or drag the field consistently. And when they drag it, they worry about getting a curve and drag. So, I think this is maybe something that could look good for a year or maybe two and then we might end up with a worse field than what they started. Um, I'm all for black having this. I 110% think that this could be a game changer for the baseball program, but I I do not think that this is a good idea at this point. I'd like to see, you know, obviously we have a tight budget, but this is something that
039come out of a capitalist budget. It's not our general fund and I'd like to see an option where we t the entire infield one transition strip from the infield to the outfield of grass and we get rid of all the dirt and we get rid of the sprinkler system on the infield and I believe that you're going to have minimal to no striping. you're going to have very low maintenance. Um, and I think honestly you're you're going to end up saving some money in the long run because of all the diamond dry or turf dry they require. Um, you're going to end up with a field that you can use 365 days a year. Um, you're not going to have any weather delays. And uh, this method here that they have is is not really
040not very many people have this type of field. Olympia has a little bit of this at their field. Um, and I'm not impressed with it. I don't think it holds up well. Um, and I think there's plenty of examples of out multiple high schools and homeowners league have fields specifically. Um, it's proven that it works and I have a lot of um concerns uh with the layout of this and ultimately the success of the plan. >> All right, I'm going to call this a good point order. Um so at this point we're asking questions of the presenter and then we will entertain a motion for action and then we'll have discussion. At this point, if we have questions for question, >> what would it take to um do we have the money in our capital
041budget to the whole to to kind of go along with this >> if we pass really No idea how much it's also >> saying we say we have to pass the capital in February. I want you to continue. >> So, I have a question about the maintenance. I assume um this is just like the bird caves and the wrestling barn and everything that maintenance will answer. >> Yes. that you believe so high school doing a lot of the work that was actually the grass. Any other questions? Do you see um the availability of this field uh increasing substantially and that that is interesting I don't believe that either baseball field baseball field that either high school very >> I think I think about your point though I think part of the reason we don't allow
042access is because usually would have end up damaging the deals and we want them to stay at a level for varsity play. The term theme of that would would kind of substantially change that. So I think it would probably be available more willing to make it more available because of the less impact on schools which is exactly >> yeah no I definitely would I think said there is no access to the community to our current because No other questions. I'll entertain a motion for action. >> I'll just remind the reason this is coming before you tonight is because of policy 6114 which is gifts or donations. Anything above $5,000 needs to be approved by the board. And so I think there's one kind of one of two options you can kind of go down there.
043One is to accept this um continue this project. I'm hearing some interest of the board to explore again on whether that's a separate motion to like to direct us to do that or come back with additional information for approval. But I think we kind of have a couple different pathways to go down here. One is to accept a donation which is required by board policy. >> Ask if something's possible for me to accept the donation and also the word to be directed district to explore option. >> Yes. Ultimately giving the district the power to decide. We would give you guys power to go to check it out best. They would like to get this done before the start. I don't know if we can get a project likely if we do it. >> You mentioned
044permitting has already taken place. Maybe we submit >> finally. >> Yes. And so we could amend that, but we'd also have to get it. We have to have the civil engineer out. >> It'd be better. >> Yeah. I think you're hearing is that there's not necessary an interest in moving forward with the project as they're trying. So I guess maybe we need to find out what the next step of this is because you're kind of accepting the donation contingent upon a plan that is mutual agreeable to everybody on the donor plus because it may not be able to happen then before the baseball season. I want to see if they can get this or get something that works for them for sure. And I want to feel like boosters are being listened to partnership. Don't
045know how we do that exactly though tonight. I do question maybe the timeline of getting it in place. So that does be aggressive, but I don't want to get in the way of that. I will certainly ask that question to >> I have a motion. Thank you. >> So my motion is to accept the donation with much gratitude and to authorize the staff to explore an expansion of the new for the entire >> Okay. Do we have any discussion about that? >> It's a great motion. I just worry about the time and exactly I think that they would probably have an entire infield. So he was missing one more year to get his entire field out baseball. Does that mean a question is does that give the district authority to move forward on this? Do
046you want to put some kind of cap on that to a certain amount like if the district gains it feasible and doable and the donor is then away we go? I am still discussing and so Mel thank you for bringing some of the history around this. We discussed this informally a couple times and we've been exploring after looking at it and thinking about doing it. So I just think it's right to do the whole field. I'm glad they took the initiative and kick the door open a little but this is something we want to do. Try it out. See how it works. All right, I'm gonna read this. Hopefully I got it correctly. So motion on the table is to accept the donation two and direct the district to pursue further options estimates for. >>
047All those in favor, please say I. >> I. Okay. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Now, we're going to move on to the superintendent report. >> Thank you. Um again, remember uh as we implement our new strategic plan, I wanted to do a couple uh little strategic spotlights. The first one tonight is um here's these are some students in Aaron H, his video production class. They are putting their creative and critical thinking skills to work is they develop the morning howl. Um so that's Blackfield School daily live show. And so between episodes analyze similar programs from schools across the country to determine what to add, what to avoid, how to make the show even better. They consider everything from entertainment value, audience attention spans to clear communication for upcoming events and highlighting of past news.
048Students are engaging in thoughtful discussion and taking meaningful meaningful steps to elevate the morning how is a great example of thinking in action aligned with our district strategic plan. And one other one that I think you heard a little bit about and I just wanted to share a little bit of those. Uh this is a shout out to Lisa Gill, a cook at Twater Hill Elementary. This is one of our very first staff members in the district to mail home our portrait of a graduate recognition cards to students. And so Lisa took the time to celebrate students for demonstrating some key traits that we value most in our learners. And this was an awesome way to connect with families and reinforce positive behaviors. And just a reminder to all of our staff, these recognition cards
049are available for everyone to use. So sending one home is a great way to let parents and guardians know that when they see student centering, demonstrating the qualities of our Tong Water graduate um graduates shine. So let's keep the momentum going. October is one of those months filled with all kinds of national celebrations. So, I felt like it really important to mention some of these and some folks who oftentimes don't get the the support and um appreciation that they they they deserve. One is um so National Custodian Day was on October 2nd. We want to honor our custodial staff and keep our schools clean, safe, and welcoming. um to their dedication to maintaining our facilities oftentimes goes unnoticed and sadly it gets like messed up every single day. So they have uh they have job
050security for sure. National Whoops. National Coaches Day is October 2nd. This day recognizes the hard work and positive impact of our impact of coaches on student athletes. They play an essential role not only in athletics but also in mentoring, promoting teamwork, discipline, personal development. Uh This is a little shout out for our Tumblr High School theater which is um in October 8 days I've been here celebrating bilingual child month October. So um the unique talents of bilingual children recognizing their linguistic skills and cultural diversity that they bring to our schools and we will encourage activities that support bilingualism in our schools and helping students embrace their language abilities. We talked about a little bit about that our student today. It is also disability history awareness month. Um this month aim is to achieve awareness and
051understanding of the history struggles and achievements of individuals with disabilities and schools will still focus on promoting inclusion breaking down barriers and highlighting the importance of accessibility and respect for all. November is also national bully prevention month um throughout October focusing on raising awareness about bullying prevention. Our schools will participate in the campaigns to foster a supportive inclusive environment for students reinforcing kindness and respect. Um, Indigenous People Day was on October 13th where we honor the Native American history and culture. This day provides a chance for our students to learn about learn about and the contributions and heritage of indigenous people as well as the importance of cultural awareness. As we state every at this meeting in our land acknowledgement each month, the district sits on the ancestral lands of the Swaxon Island tribe, the
052Musqui tribe and the Shahis tribe since time memorial. And finally tonight, I do want to before I conclude my report, a moment to recognize and thank um the valued member of our board, including her turn this month. So, Director Adams has served in the board for the past three years, and I've had the great privilege of working alongside her for more than two of those years. She's one of the board members who hired me, and I will always be grateful for the confidence she placed in me as I stepped into this role. Throughout her time on the board, Jill has approached her work with thoughtfulness, integrity, deep commitment to this to our students, staff, and community. She asks the right questions, seeks to understand complex issues, never lose sight of the big picture, ensuring that
053every decision is made in the best interest of our schools. It's been a pleasure to collaborate with her, not just as a board member, but as a partner in leadership. Her voice at the table has made a lasting impact and we certainly miss her presence. We're grateful for the time and service she's given to our district. So, on behalf of the administration and truly the entire school community, thank you, Jill, for your dedication and your perspective. We wish you all the best in whatever comes next. Okay, thank you Kevin. We're now going to move on to board member reports. We have a legislative report. Yes. So you're not done with me yet. Um so I'm the legislative rep. Um through the end of this month and then once the board will be another um but
054kind of a quick timeline. So uh September was a big month uh We have a trade group which we call Washington State School Board Director Association. Uh conveniently they're based in Olympia. Okay. Friendly terms we call them WA just so you kind of know. Um what's going to happen very shortly is at the end of this month uh WADA will announce the legislative priorities for the school board school districts upcoming here for the upcoming legislative session in January. And then the mission for the board membership will be still here and the new ones would be to share those priorities with course. Okay. To make sure that our voices heard that we're not forgotten in their list of items. Um and then come January that's where we get what we call advocacy. Okay. So that's more
055pressure really nice at first and then we're going to put more pressure. make sure that we have a uh how can I say a more uh equitable timeline of our money coming in. Okay. It's very difficult for us to budget things and and we wouldn't have to do it alone if we had more consistency with our cash flow. I'm a real big cash flow person and so I really wanted to help the school district to have better cash flow. Again, board members, please tell our legislators that we need to smooth that out if you can. Um, and then the key is is keep the pressure on them and uh list the names of those folks and make sure that the point of the school district is and that's all I have to say. Thank you.
056Okay, we are going to wrap things up um with board member comments. Please keep in mind each person has approximately 50 minutes to speak and go first. Uh so I kept visiting this last month. I just have a couple schools left. Uh also went to Black Hills night. Uh uh great traditions of other students. I've seen traditions of coaches talking about students on Sunday night, but um the um teammates talked about um so that was that was fun. I also went to the fine arts festival at high school which if you are if you can go I would uh invite you to go it's great to see the jazz band the orchestra the band um see uh the drama department on the play um and then the tree so um it's nice you know nice
057way to Um it was also a night of the Mariners game which it was I preferred doing at that high school. Um so that um that was great. Also got to um go to Cascad High School and um be with them. They had a senior night um and very very lots of proud parents um coming into very excited. Um, and then finally, I just I want to thank Jill for her service on the board. Um, what I appreciate about you are the questions that you asked your journalism background was a great addition to the team. Um, and also your focus on um your focus on making sure our staff focused on dyslexia and making sure you know based on your experience with your voice. I thought that was a humongous addition to the team and
058making this add to our district because of all our staff because of your focus and we are a better district because of you. >> I can go next. Um, I would like to uh also reiterate gratefulness to um all the individuals and coaches and custodians and everything that superintendent noted for highlights in October. Um I've primarily been able to just get to the football games um this year and uh one of the things that I love the most about the Paner Bowl is always that consolidated at halftime um where the dance teams you know come together for that. I just think that's incredible. The one that they did I think it was two years ago that had the thriller was by far the best halftime performance I've ever done. So that's that's really exciting. Um,
059I can also re reiterate uh how incredibly um wonderful coaches are. You know, my personal experience with my kids and uh their coaches that had a huge impact. So, it's wonderful. Um and then also I would like to say thank you very much to Joe. Um you've been uh you've definitely been somebody who brings a lot of different perspectives um and really stays focused on you know the kids, you know, first and foremost. and I've just so appreciated all of your contributions and your service as well. So, thank you. >> Uh I can go um >> principal month uh again having a principal one year is pretty amazing for our school district. So, just wanted to reiterate that. I think it's great for our school district to have that with the principles. Thanks to the
060principal who showed up to support uh that today and um also want to thank the new excuse me the new student reps. I thought you did an amazing job actually outstanding uh for your first time out here. So you did better than my first meeting. So nice job. Um, and then, uh, as always to the two public speakers that went tonight, uh, takes guts to come out in public and speak, um, what you're passionate about. So, I want to thank them for doing that. Um, and then lastly, um, I've had the shortest amount of time with Jill, but just thank you for your service to the community and this district. It's it's been fun to learn this role and uh know some of the things that everyone has to go through be a board member
061and uh how we make it through that process all together as a team up here and uh yeah thank you welcome thank you great job everybody said it that was a great time for your first time for sure and looking forward for the next month. Also going to repeat about our principles. Thanks to the ones that showed up here tonight and I really appreciate that. We we bring them in here quite a bit and they're pretty good sports about showing up and being recognized and also here to support their staff. Uh I have been attending events as well too. Um Melissa hit it on the head. The fine arts event is fantastic. It's actually a very great way to just see everything all at once. Um it was really cool. Such a wide range of
062of talents of the students there. So it was very cool to see. Uh also been having plenty of discussions with community members and staff members and my favorite students. You can say kids say the darnest things and we have some great kids and it's a pleasure to talk to them about their principles. Uh another thing I want to call out real quick. I mentioned it earlier about our great principles Liz and There was a student that was injured uh in an athletic in broke his leg really really bad actually and the district response was just amazing. The immediate response on the ground it happened at Black Hills High School. So we had several people that jumped right to it. A lot of people affiliated with the Black Hills program. I was able to get a
063hold of Kevin who responded immediately. I believe uh Chris was his name from Maintenance that showed up willing to help us out. Lots of people jumped into action to care for this student immediately on the clock. Uh but more so I contacted uh Liz and Tamara to to let them know about this student, what happened so that they could start talking with his teacher preparing for it. He's going to be in a cast for several weeks and months and months. So we just have we have great staff that's willing to jump in and respond. Never mind the community that's probably around to see that in action. And Thank you for your service. I appreciate that very much. Not trouble. So, I'll just finish off. Um bottom line is I I ran on the theme of
064my entire term has been focusing on but extremely important and focus and had bumps along the way but the team is very strong. We have many many many people. Um and without the team the board is and so you got to have the team and everything and the kids and bodies and it's really important. One of the things was to also support public education since the founding of our country. Public education core value and I want to support that in any way I can and I will not be disappearing. Um I will be broadening my scope and helping the community. Okay. So at this time um and I we are recessing the regular meeting to enter executive session to discuss personnel performance evaluation or qualification for employment for RCW42.30.1101G. The executive session is expected to
065last approximately 60 minutes and no action will be taken. >> [music]