001Do we know? >> I think she's in her meeting upstairs. >> All right. I would like to call to order the board of education meeting. Please stand and say the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? >> Second. >> All in favor say I. >> I. >> Motion carries. Roll call finds us all present with the exception of Mr. Madden. Um, and Sarah will be be with us shortly. I'm seeking a motion to approve the regular board of education meeting minutes of August 26th, 2025. >> Second. >> All in favor say I. >> I. >> Motion carries. All
002right. Is there any community input? Is there anyone here for community input? All right. Next, we have the superintendent report. Dr. Conra, >> thank you. Hard to talk about anything other than the start of the school year, but we'll get one housekeeping thing um out of the way right away. And that's the WASBY 2025 fall regional meeting and workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, October 21st at Milhome Summer Club. Um and then there's some virtual meetings to follow. So, if you're interested in that, just reach out to Jill and she'll get you registered and signed up. Um, other than that, it's been a great three weeks so far. So, um, one thing that is becoming a quite the tradition in our district, as you know, is the house construction. So, we had groundbreaking 28th house uh
00310th house built um under Tetra Mitzler who's the instructor out there and that's it's just I said at the groundbreaking um to find teachers who have that skill of building a house you can do uh to find people that are good with kids you can do to find both of those together is unique. Uh and he's both. So, we're so fortunate to have him um working with uh those students. So, they're out there starting construction already building their 28th house, their 27th house. Um we'll we'll talk about it sold and now it's unsold, but we're going to sell it again. So, um they always go quickly. And what was cool about this year is William Fighter is a senior at North High School and for the first time the student that designed the house is
004actually building the house as well. So, his design was the winner and he's going to be building it is helping build it as well. So, pretty neat deal and obviously thanks to all of our community partners that continue to support that um project as well. So, we're excited about that. Um beyond that, it's it's hard to find words to explain how great the first uh couple weeks of school are and just how amazing our staff is. So, um, during presession, we talked a little bit about relationships and, uh, how far that goes in education. And, um, small examples being out at Urban Middle School and a parent came in, um, with some questions and just some scheduling issues with their child that they needed help with. And a little girl, probably three, four years old,
005runs over to the secretary and climbs up on her desk and has a great relationship with the secretary and allows the to to do what they need to do with um with our staff. But you just see it each and every day. Uh teachers going the extra mile, staff going the extra mile to build these relationships so that uh kids succeed. And I think that's why uh you see in this district the Forbes list, the uh academic achievement that we show you in relation to our comparables, it's it's because of those relationships. We have such qualified uh intelligent, impressive employees and on top of that they work like dogs to build relationships and it's just been really fun to watch again this year is they they take on challenges and they conquer challenges because they
006know that's what's best for kids. So, we're so fortunate. Um and the one thing that we continue to struggle uh with there obviously and that you're going to continue to hear from me is the resources that come with it. uh we have to support these people. We have to support our kids. And spent some time uh at conferences in the last two weeks um looking at our budget situation, talking with other districts our size, talking with other districts in our county, etc. And that just continues to be a challenge. So, u there's no sugar coating that. Uh our teachers need the supports and resources. They need to be paid fair. Um and that's been a struggle for us. So that's the that's the only struggle I think uh that we see in in the first
007couple weeks, but other than that, we are seeing teachers bring it every single day for kids. We're seeing all of our employees bring it every single day, and it's been a great great start to the school year. So, we couldn't be more pleased. >> Thank you. Next, we have the Farnsworth and urban school update. >> Yeah, Nate. Uh, Matt and Mark want to come on up. Uh, so you know these three gentlemen, Nate Considine from Bur, Maywash is from Quashers Construction. Um, as we continue to work through our referendum project, we just wanted to provide you with an update um, today. Okay. So Nate's going to do most of the talking. We will certainly uh would encourage you to ask questions as he goes through this. Um we got time to talk about it. We
008we put I think 20 minutes on. So uh let's use the time. It's really neat. I think where we are in the process. Uh and so much work has gone into engaging staff, engaging administration on on what we need in our schools to meet the needs of our kids. We're pretty excited to share the progress tonight. >> Awesome. Thank you, Jake. So, as Jake said, just wanted to give a quick overview of where the project's at from a schedule perspective. Um, do an update on the current plans, take a look at some preliminary renderings that we have to show, some that we've seen before, some that are new, and have a chance to look ahead as well. Uh, so, uh, you've seen this graphic before. I think it's important to come back to it as
009we sit here, uh, in September of 2025. Uh this is the full picture schedule that was uh produced as part of the referendum campaign. Uh so for for where we're at in the process, we have completed what we consider I would say twothirds of the design process. We look at the design process in schematic design, design development, and construction documents. We've completed the first two and are shifting gears into construction document mode. Um so uh for the most part, the big picture moves are are done. We're refining details. We're refining finishes. We've gathered a lot of feedback from staff through multiple uh listening sessions, different user group engagements, and we're now at the point of trying to put the nuts and bolts these building together. Uh so the overall goal will be is that the
010design will be complete in January. Um I know this feels like a long time. We've been in design for a long time. Uh but uh as if you've walked through urban, there's a lot of uh nooks and crannies that we're trying to get our heads wrapped around. It's a pretty complex building that we're trying to add on to and the same goes at Farnsworth. So appreciate your patience as we complete the design process. Um then the goal would be is that we're bidding in the spring and construction would start early um in 2026. Uh so we'll touch a little bit later on about kind of what the the forecast looks like beyond that. Uh but that's where we are in the process right now. Uh so just some site plans. Um I wanted to kind
011of give uh a recap for the public that maybe has hasn't seen this as well as um provide some you'll see as we get to some of the site renderings um some snap some snippets of where these renderings are being taken from. So, starting at Farnsworth, um, and apologies, it's kind of, um, I'm going to go in or start outside and go inside at Farnsworth, and then I'm going to do the same at Urban. Um, just going alphabetical order, not in any other particular order. So, at Farnsworth, the site plan has stayed the same. Uh, we're still planning for a parent drop off um, and temporary drive uh, for daytime guests on 10th uh, street. Uh, buses would line up on Ashland. And then um 11 Street will have some parent drop off availability as
012well as access to the parking lot that will serve the building uh once we're able to remove uh the existing Farnsworth structure as well as uh in the northeast corner up at Union and 10th. Uh there would be a U10 turf um soccer field as well as some hardscape uh playground for uh the like a half court and some volleyball areas. Um, so there is some recreation on site for middle schoolers on the outside of the building. Um, something that I don't know that I I pointed out last time I was here, but is unique and maybe it stands out to you today, but the existing Farnsworth building is actually considered parallel to Union Avenue. So, as you look at this site, it doesn't look straight when you look at 10th and 11th. It's not
013in parallel to 10th and 11th streets. it it's in parallel with union. So um that creates some from some unique situations to occur. But from a constructibility standpoint um we it makes sense to just basically wrap a 90° angle around the existing gymnasium. And out unless you're looking at a site plan like this, I don't think anyone will ever notice that it's off by 2.39 degrees. So um just kind of a unique little situation at Bartssworth. uh at Urban. Uh just want to start at the site plan here. So nothing has necessarily changed at this site. We're still wrapping around the north side. Uh parent drop off loop and temporary parking on the west. And then additional parking in the uh northeast corner that will help support both the north high school site and uh
014the uh urban site. Similar amenities as far as uh uh blacktop space uh that can be used as additional overflow parking. um in the northeast corner outside the cafeteria. So, uh starting with uh some renderings at the Farnsworth site. Um you've seen some of these exteriors before, but I did include um a site plan on each of the renderings to help identify where we are on site. Uh so, you can see this would be looking at basically the main drive um as as someone would be entering onto the Farnsworth site to drop off something at the main office. Uh you're seeing the cafeteria from kind of the panther um to the right and then the the where the person in the blue sweatshirt is would be the main entry and then as you work through
015the building you'd see the office on the first floor, library on second floor and then the threetory academic volume beyond. Uh this takes a step further back. you're kind of on the playground in this instance, specifically looking at uh the cafeteria volume. The next one, uh just a little bit further down on 10th, taking a closer look at the uh three-story academic space. And then a spot from 10th and Ashland. Um looking again at that three-story academic piece as well. As a reminder, we do have a little bit of a grade change to uh traverse on this site as we're tying in at the existing first floor height. So, there will be an internal ramp that hopefully no one will feel. It's just kind of it's purposely built into the building. And then we will
016have um some some sidewalks traversing us up to the building, but trying to um make this um as user friendly as possible while dealing with um you know, tying into the existing roadway elevations. I believe I have one more on the outside. Yes. Uh just in the southwest corner looking uh up again uh looking towards the north uh you can see kind of the panther uh up on the left hand side that would be the gym entry and again just another shot at that threetory academic. So jumping uh inside is is an exciting um new new process for us tonight. Um, we don't have everything sorted out, but we're excited to show you some some preliminary renderings. Um, red is a very hard color to work with. It is a very uh some may feel
017it is abrasive color. Uh, it can um some some people I've been told makes them feel angry. Um, insert um with the >> add your football. >> Okay, I set him up for that one. Um so anyways, we're trying to work through um with the staff on what is the uh appropriate amount of red to use in this space to still accommodate the school color, have some school pride associated to that um but still um make sure that we have exciting spaces for kids to be in as they occupy the building. So this um first rendering would be right uh you can see the doors to the left. That would be the secure entry. Um and then you're kind of looking at the main office. So, kind of a focal point, a potential uh lit
018um sign at the main entry. And then you can start to see the main office. And then as you go down the hallway, as we go inside, uh you're starting to just see some of the use of color um carpeting. Um this would just be uh one of the reception uh desks in the main office. And then um wanted to show just again a kind of a typical science classroom. So again trying to figure out the correct amount of red to use in this space. You'll notice that in some of these renderings we're seeing just a lot of white furniture. We do that on purpose. We don't have the furniture selected yet. These are all placeholder images, but the furniture does help you give a sense of scale of what how big the space is.
019So, um, science classrooms are bigger than your average classroom as there is a a lab setup space and a classroom setup space. So, hopefully exciting to start to see some of those spaces come to life. >> Can you can you go back to that for a second? >> Yeah. >> Kelly, can I just put you on the spot and you explain what's going on there from an instructional side? >> Yep, absolutely. So, you do have two separate settings. So, in the in the closest to the red wall, you're going to see a place for students to be sitting at desks of some kind um for an opportunity for direct instruction. And then when we are doing more of the hands-on learning, we are spreading out um coming to this closer side of that photo um
020and having separate stations for groups of about four students at each station. >> How many how many seats are there for the direct instruction? So I think the rooms are are like at 30ish in these images. >> That's correct. Yep. >> And then how many lab tables with boards were too? >> Uh that puts us at right around that seven um point seven to eight. Um we do have um each in in minor buildings we have to provide ADA stations as well as others. So I think once we count the ADA station we're at eight stations. >> Thank you. So as I remember that discussion with teachers, it just became a discussion of do we need both spaces, can they just work at the lab tables, etc. So what I really give Bray and and
021Kelly and SNI a lot of credit for is sitting down with science teachers working through what do you want your room to look like? Uh and then finding a solution that meets the needs of the group. It's hard to get everyone together and keep everyone happy, but I think um we hit the vast majority of the requirements in this room and it's just it's fun to get to work with teachers and and for them to get to explain why this is important uh and then to make it happen for them. Absolutely. Um not uh this is a typical classroom. Again, kind of uh standard uh generic furniture in there for now. Um, but just showing you some of the opportunities we're going to have for natural light in some of these spaces. Um, you know,
022as we design these new buildings, there's not going to be a classroom that that doesn't have natural light either directly into the classroom or, you know, coming through a space into a classroom. That's part of our focus as we move forward here. Um, I I just want to point out again talking about the color of red. We're interested in trying to bring that in so that you're seeing that being implemented in the flooring subtly. You can imagine if we painted these walls that are shown as gray red, how that room would really feel intense. Uh so trying to be thoughtful about how we're using color and how students um experience color, light, and their experiences as a whole. As a whole. Yes. Um so I'm going to shift over to urban here. Um I I
023do want to just say like we've been kind of designing these buildings in tandem, right? So, you're going to see some renderings um that are applicable at Farnsworth. We're at the same state at Farn at at Farnsworth and you're going to see some at Farnsworth that I didn't show at Urban. Um but just trying to be cognizant of how many slides we're showing today knowing that they're they are being designed in tandem and I'll try to touch on both schools as we go forward. So, at Urban, again, starting on the outside, uh, wanted to show hopefully that exciting rendering of what, um, bringing back the kind of revitalized facade on North Avenue, uh, will feel like. Uh, and then, uh, what how the, uh, music wing will tie in. Then, as we kind of turn
024the corner in the southwest corner, this will be really right outside that parent loop, looking at the corner of Art, and you're starting to see the main entry up here to your left. Uh the this rendering again shown last time we were here, but the main entry at Urban uh trying to really bring through that art deco feel into uh the the new design. And then uh I think we have maybe this and one other one. So this would be the northwest corner looking at the addition kind of right at the tail of the parent drop off uh where we'd be looking at the three-story academic. Um, if some of these renderings are new to you, you are seeing some green metal paneling on the building. The intent is, and I'm disappointed, Jake, um, that
025that that is a patina look metal panel. He usually wears his patina jacket when I come to talk. That's that's why I said that more patina. >> Um, is that we want to pay homage uh to the u the art deco building and we do also want to make it a fun and exciting building for the community as well. So, um, hopefully everybody's familiar with the patina process, but like patina is what happens to copper as it as it, um, oxidizes over time. So, the hope is that as we introduce that patina colored metal panel that it almost looks like it's been on the building ever since it was, you know, originally constructed. So, then I think our last rendering on the exterior would be the cafeteria. So, if we looked at that site plan,
026you're kind of standing right on the play area looking at that cafeteria, which plays some some nods uh to the main entry with some of that verticality, um that fluted stone at the entry. And then this is a cafeteria, so we're really looking forward to bringing some natural light into this space as well. And then uh did have one more just on the other side trying to put a playful touch with some some um some signage uh with kind of acknowledging the urban nights. So jumping on the inside um again just wanted to show you an example of what the main office would look like. Uh similar styles of of how we're approaching the interior from um just kind of how we use color. uh green is a little bit easier to work with. However,
027I think we actually had a lot of conversation about what tone of green to use. What is the urban green um so we're working through that as we go forward as well. Um but excited to show some of these interior spaces. Um a typical classroom. So here you're actually inside the existing building. Um so you're starting to see what that's going to look and feel like once we bring those windows back into play. uh still interested in bringing color into the floor but kind of keeping everything else a little bit neutral. And then a collaboration area. So this is a space we didn't look at in Farnsworth. Again, we're designing these in tandem. Um this is this area is still being refined as we go forward, but I think I wanted to pause here because
028we spent a lot of time in the design process talking to um the SRO uh and within the city. We talked a lot of time as the admin team, as the principal team with staff about what is the right amount of transparency. When we talk about transparency, we're talking about windows and walls to have us have a a safe building. Um, but also have us have an a learning environment that encourages learning, right? There's a really fine line to walk there. Um, and so I think this is an example of having some dedicated spaces that are right outside of a learning space that'll have some windows that look out into there that can allow for some of that passage supervision, passive supervision to occur without there being like full window walls, right? We're talking about
029punched window openings, windows and doors, not full walls of glass that look out into that space. >> Yeah. So, what you'll see some districts going to is like if you look where that that classroom door is, everything from that door and and essentially to it's just all glass. It's glass sliding doors um from floor to ceiling. And uh I think as we toured schools, we we saw some interesting things. We saw one school that was then trying to cover the glass up and that that was an expensive frosting process or whatever they were going to do because they felt they were in a fishbowl and kids were weren't paying attention like they hoped they would. We talked to other schools that absolutely loved it um to so to each their own, but one concern we
030had with it was safety. Um so we understood wanting natural light in. We understood wanting to use a collaborative space where a teacher would have eyesight of students, but we also wanted rooms that uh per our safety protocols, kids could be safe behind a locked door. Um and and we can get into safety of the building as well. There's a lot of other precautions that are taken um prior to this obviously, but uh we worked with our SPD. They they're just such great partners in this uh to find what makes sense uh so we have a proper balance of learning. We don't want to make our classrooms look like prison cells, but we also want to make sure that we're safe. Uh and I think we landed on a really nice um concept here that's
031strategic about where we put glass. Uh so lots of natural light coming coming through ability for teachers to to monitor that collaborative space uh while also having safety features that we needed. >> And I think if I can just add and um would be is that these collaboration um spaces at both buildings are designed in a way to make these buildings feel small. Right? So um although we acknowledge that there's you know 600 kids or or there you know we can work on that number but in these buildings there are three floor levels and the the the design of the buildings is that they're split in half right so you have kind of half of your of your grade population in one area that has a collaboration area and then the other half of your
032grade level has a collaboration over here and then that's mirrored up you know three floors. So this is very strategic so that we don't have, you know, eight classrooms, seven classrooms all in one area. We're kind of trying to break this building down. And that helps um we feel from like a compartmentalization standpoint, but it also helps from the student feel of that they're not in a mega building, per se, >> community, >> right? >> There was a couple questions. >> So are these lockers? >> Yes, those are um initial. Yeah, we we do purposely keep the lockers low. Um, which is we've talked about that about what can be stored in lockers, things like that. But by bringing them down around that 4 foot height that you're seeing there, it allows for staff to
033see over and through there so that you can see the kids heads in those areas. >> So, how wide is that walkway then? >> The locker on the other side, right? >> Yeah. So, your traditional um kind of method of corridor line lockers as you walk down buildings, we're trying we're starting to move further and further away from and we're seeing these locker banks. We've seen um like in one of your neighbors uh where there's kind of an al cove of lockers where you kind of go in there and you're kind of coralled back in there. That's not this design. you're kind of all the way open on all sides around it and then there's a clear about um 8 foot 10 foot wide hallway that you're seeing in that kind of light floor that
034takes you to the to the academic areas. So we do put the lockers more or less strategically next to the collaboration areas so that if there is you know 30 seconds for for Joanie to talk to to Todd you know between class that they're they're kind of all doing it in one area. Just from the flooring, I understand the carpeting from a sound perspective, but what about cleanliness? I mean, personal homes, I know people are taking carpet out right, left, and putting hard surface >> down. >> Yeah. So, >> how sustainable is that? >> Yeah, it's a really fine line. Um, the nice thing about commercial carpet that we're putting in projects these days, they're all tiles. So, if you were to have an issue with one, you can really just take, you know, kind
035of a a flathead screwdriver, pop up a corner, pull it out, and replace the tile. Or or if it was right on the seam, you could replace four, right? And not have to redo the entire area. It's not like the old broad loom carpet. Um, the the carpet that we're putting in projects, and I believe Joe Walmer can speak to as he's been the district has been putting in in other areas of the of the district, is that this is really kind of a hybrid carpet. This isn't um the uh the team always makes fun of me because when I bring it in, I pour water on it because the water doesn't absorb into the carpet. It's actually kind of how it's woven. Um it's pretty durable to that. Whereas if you get to it
036within 30 minutes, it's not going to soak in. So, >> is it made out of school paper towel? >> It is a recyclable material. >> Light brown, dark brown, all the browns. couldn't tell you what where what materials in it, but it is a recyclable material and it is a it is a fine line of acoustics and feel and cleanability that we go through with the with the district. >> Joe, you want to speak to flooring? >> It's actually been explained to me that it's it's a more of a plastic space where it doesn't absorb uh and wear. It's very high wear resistant. Um it's and it's very nice looking flooring again. what Nate said, it's very easily replaced if need be. >> Awesome. >> All right. Well, I'm happy to go back to any
037of the renderings that um we went through tonight. Um you'll, as you could have maybe noticed, we really focused in on classroom spaces, offices right off the bat. Kind of some of those um more spaces that every kid's going to go into. We're actually um next week going to be talking about some of the bigger impact spaces such as libraries, such as cafeterias, and we'll hopefully have some more exciting renderings that show in the future. Um but those spaces always take a little bit more refinement because they are bigger. They have a bigger impact as far as community members being in at night and etc. So, um we appreciated having a little more time to refine those spaces. So, as we look ahead, um I'll open it up to the rest of the panel here
038to help um close us out. >> Yeah, let me um speak to those the the first three bullet points there quickly or first bullet point and three sub bullets and then can kind of speak to where we are with the budget. But, um the big concern for me right now is the geothermal. Uh we're not quite where we need to be as far as our um our study and getting information back from the company that did that for us, but uh Farnsworth we knew was going to be tight on that site and it's looking like that would extend construction by about a year. Um it's a it's a at that rate it's a 15year payback, maybe more depending on what that looks like. again, uh, extends construction by a year and, um, is just problematic
039in a couple different areas. It's after 15 years, it would save us about $15,000 a year. So, um, you know, that that kind of is what it is. The concern for me right now is that extra year of construction. So, we're looking at if there's any way we can um, do better with that. Uh, and Matt can can speak to the kind of the construction dilemma there, but my understanding is really it's just bringing in the portable chillers or portable HBAC essentially that becomes challenging. Yeah, there's there's nowhere to put it. Uh, well, the existing schools there and you're building the the new school, right? So, uh, to to really do geothermal, you'd either have to do one of two things. To do it, put it underneath the new school, which has never been done
040in the Midwest, and we would not advise doing that, and that's still going to extend the schedule a decent amount of time. Uh, the alternative is to wait until after the new addition is built, demo the old building, uh, and then put geothermal in underneath the parking lot and playground. But you need to heat the building while all this work's happening. And so there's a temporary solution that's very expensive that's involved. And so it it really makes the site very challenging to and any potential payback gets reduced significantly and and it gets much more expensive to do the construction. >> So that was the that's the concern at Farnsworth. Um, I think solar still makes sense and um, we're working on those numbers as well, but I I think uh, we'll be all in on
041solar and that will that will make sense. It also ties into curriculum and kids can engage in that a little bit. Um, geothermal at urban obviously uh, when we started this plan we had thought mill and nyak plenty of room for geothermal out there. Um, and that would have been a great site for geothermal uh, On the current site, they're going to have to go almost to the 50 yard line on the football field. You'd have to move track and field and football um for a season. Um and again, we're looking at 15 20 years for payback and then about 15,000 a year after that. Am I missing anything there construction? No, I I think it's similar challenges both schools, right? The the geothermal field requires a tremendous amount of space and on a green
042field site, it it would be very different. But when you're working on an existing site that has uh either limited space around it already or there's active activities like football field, track field, you know, happening close proximity. uh the only way geothermal works really at urban is to go into that space and uh and that creates lots of other challenges >> and if you're putting the math in your head together of why so much more space at urban than Farnsworth because you think about the site size it's is it is more space the reason why is because we're working with an existing urban building that back in the 20s they didn't put insulation in the walls right and so the heating and cooling demands for that building to become compliant um requires quite a few
043additional bores um at the urban site in comparison to the farms site. So that was dis I think disappointing news to us. We had hoped um for sustainability purposes and for future financial purposes that geothermal would be uh the direction that we would go in. I'm still not ready to say no yet. uh we keep digging and looking for other solutions and ways to make it work, but it's proving to be pretty difficult. So, we should have that answer uh or information for you in the next I would think next month or so. Um and we can we can button that up and have that final discussion here with you. So, that's where we are with that. Um want to speak to the budget, Matt? >> Yep. Absolutely. So as the bullet states uh we
044are on track right now. So as Nate mentioned uh the design process is now through design development about 75% of the the way through planning. Uh we've done multiple budgets along the way. So uh uh and we continue to evaluate options and look at different design and scheduling uh scenarios in between as well. So so right now with the latest plans uh we are actually they're far enough along there's enough detail that we're actually able to go out to market and get some pricing from key subs and suppliers and material uh providers. So, so we're able to add just more detail and and more exactly to to to where we're at. And but we're progressing on track. Uh as we continue with design construction docks, we'll continue to look at options like geothermal uh different
045materials as well and uh building out that schedule to really dial in things prior to uh construction document completion and bidding. So, uh, one other thing on that note, we we've done some investigative work in particular at Urban, uh, where we've done some selective demo in the the boiler room just to get more familiar with what's we're actually dealing with. Uh, we took out one of the windows on the the south side of as well, some of the an epoxy scoop, aggregate panel. Uh so and really the reason for that is to learn as much as we can now so we can design the with that in mind with those existing conditions in mind and we try to eliminate as many of the the unknowns as we can possibly do >> can't eliminate them all
046no preps. So then as we move forward, as I mentioned, we're still working through some interior design um solutions inside the library, the cafeteria, some other high impact spaces, gyms for example. Um so that'll be wrapping up here in the next month. And then we're really gearing up for city of Shbboan site plan submission. So that's part of the plan approval process. Uh we're hoping to have that in in November, December of this calendar year. And then the plans will be fully completed and uh ready uh for bidding by the end of January and and out the door in February. So with that, I happen to answer any questions. >> Um I have a question about some of the lighting. I really um I'm curious if you said like there's placeholders for some of the
047tables. There's a lot of fluorescent light panels. Are there options within that for there to be, you know, dimmable lights or even like what we see up here where there's some you know, coverage there. Is that is that part of the next step or has that already been considered? >> Yeah, apologies if the renderings aren't showing perfectly, but um the entire buildings will be outfitted with LED light panels. Um we we do go through kind of a process of where it makes sense to do a tracker style light like this. Um or if it is a flat panel. Um the flat panels are more costefficient, but we have to try to like balance um you know kind of the design aesthetic uh the how someone interacts with the space um etc in the different areas.
048So there's you'll see as we get to the cafeteria because I can kind of see behind the scenes, right? We're not going to have these style lights in the cafeteria. We're not going to have these style lights in the library, right? But we try to pick our points kind of where we spend um you know the money appropriately. Um, as far as dimmable goes, all classroom lights will be dimmable. And the way we set classroom lights up is that we actually set them up in two banks. So, um, there'd be typically, I would say, um, quote unquote, front of classroom, which is a little unique in this situation because we have a movable display, um, but is on one set of light switches where you can dim the front down and then the rest of
049the classroom is on a separate light switch that you can dim up and down as well. Um, that's kind of our standard for educational design these days. That make sense? >> Great. >> Y >> I don't have a question, but I have a comment. I really appreciate the thoughtfulness that the thought that's being put into this process. It sounds to me like you're really taking staff perspective into consideration, like everything from the from the color to the size of the classrooms. I think about last year I went to Urban and took a tour and I went into a science classroom and it like seriously it felt about as big as this board table. Like I was like how do the kids learn without feeling cramped, without feeling trapped and you guys have got that. So
050thank you for the work you've done. >> Really appreciate it. >> Thank you. Uh yeah, Matt, Nate, Corey from C Smith, they're up every other Wednesday. Um spending hours with us going through I'm I'm pretty impressed, right? I talk with my colleagues throughout the state about what it looks like on their end. Um and the likes of Matt, Corey, and they aren't there for three, four hours every week talking about things as finite as door handles and aspects like that. So really appreciate their time, their effort, and they're bought in. It's really nice to see just that they're taking so much ownership in this project at all. As well, we don't ever feel like um we're getting put to the side. We feel like we're getting treated extremely well and getting the best uh and
051and and a lot of the best times. So, you hate to say that in front of them, but they're really talented. Uh, and like I said, I I talked with a lot of colleagues throughout the state and that's not that's not the norm. So, we're really appreciative of their time, their dedication. Uh, we're really excited about this. It's a ton of work, but we keep reminding ourselves of what it would look like if we weren't doing this work, and it would be like Leah said, cramp science rooms and big problems for our kids. So, this is exciting. This is fun. It's well worth the time and we can't wait to to update you again as we continue to progress. >> He took all the words. So, thank you guys. >> Thank you. >> Check the
052mail. >> I heard him say. >> All right. Next, we have the confirmation of sale of house construction project. Mark. >> Yeah. So we had uh taken this to finance uh committee and since that time um the sale fell through with the bank. So um they it's back on the market and uh hopefully we'll be back very soon again um so that um we can close out that that sale. >> So we don't need to take any action to put We'll be looking forward to hearing that number to be a little bit larger when we come back. >> It's pretty big. >> Just bought one. Sorry. >> Do they need help financing that? >> Okay. Any questions for Mark? >> All right. Thank you, sir. Next, we have the strategic loan plan um quarterly review.
053Dr. Conrad Rachel, Mark, and Jamie. >> Yeah, these three are uh wonderful colleagues, and I continue to be so fortunate to work with them and have them on our team. Um, and as we look through our our long range plan this year, we're just going to again, same process that we've done for years in this district, highlight a few areas that we want to emphasize. And obviously as a board feel uh free to ask us questions on on anything uh that we don't touch on and that you have further explanation for. So with that said, I'm going to uh kick it off to Rachel and I think she's going to do a introduction first that was actually on last year's plan when we talked about um our uh PDI. So how we how we develop
054leaders in this district. So I'm going to let her speak to that real quick. >> Yeah. So I just want to acknowledge that we do have three of our principal development institute leaders in the audience. We have Robbie um social worker at North High School, Tiffany Diamond ELA teacher at North High School and then we have Katie Dust um from Horus man. So I serve as their practicum supervisor and I invited them out to just have a better understanding of how our school board operates and see how we update around our long range plan. and we're always um looking for incremental growth and getting better around continuous improvement. So that you're tonight to observe and we'll be brief on Friday right when we have our next PIP. >> And congratulations to those three. There was
055a lot of interest um and we're fortunate to have so many great leaders in this district. Uh there are three of them. >> Okay. And what I'll do is I'm simply going to highlight um one area of focus for student and instructional services. That would be pillar one go to objective two um and it's the one where we are focusing on our implementation of next path. I shared with you all a little bit at one of our presentations last year that we're really excited about this new tool. Um it is a data visualization tool. So essentially it's a warehouse where we can pull in lots of different um data sources and the power of the tool is that it instantaneously allows us to identify students that might need additional intervention or students that are doing
056really well. Um so at this point we are primarily using it for our reading intervention plans and within our data analysis teams. In addition to that, what we're going to be doing is exploring some additional capabilities um from the program. So, we have five tasks that we want our teachers to be able to do and our administrators to be able to do. So, that's one that we're really excited about um as far as time saving and just allowing us to analyze data more efficiently. >> Wasn't ready, huh? All right. So, uh, pillar two, goal one, and I picked objective one to highlight. Uh, so, as you know, we kicked off the year with the, um, uh, back to school bash. It was, uh, revived, bigger. Uh the intention was to truly um really capture that
057spirit of the Wii mentality to connect staff and community and really reinforce this as we entered into the new year and we did get a lot of um really positive feedback. Um the second bullet is some bullet point is something I'm really interested in. Our new employee experience uh specialist is participating in what is called a creation lab. Um, it's been organized by the Wellness Council of Wisconsin. Uh, well, the Wellness Council of Wisconsin has also, um, brought in a workplace culture consultant. I believe the woman is located in Milwaukee and she's leading this group, which is a cohort of business leaders, uh, some school districts. um what they're focusing on is building a foundation for engagement through small employee groups, recognition efforts, and other strategies to help staff feel valued and included. So, we
058really felt like again that that went um in alignment with the Wii mentality that we're always trying to reinforce and support. Um so, moving on to goal, let's see here. Goal two, objective two, um our our key focus is on uh special ed as you have heard us talk um throughout the tail end of last year and of course it continues into this year. And as Jake mentioned, while our current budget and resources are limited, we continue to explore strategies to support our special ed staff and to better understand their needs. And our goal is to ensure that we're positioned to act quickly on supports and targeted strategies as resources become available. Oh, pillar three is mine. And um we're having fun. We're we're kneede in website design right now. And um that's not the
059most fun process, but Nicole and Lisa do an amazing job uh reaching out to the schools, working with the leads at each school to make that happen. So, um, really where we are for both of these goals is it's two things, right? It's a it's a new website and one that's going to be, I think, more functional, more usable for parents. And along with that comes uh, messages XR, which has just been amazing to use so far. So, um, I think we've, you've used it, I've used it. Um, it used to be that if we were in a school crisis to send out a Sky Alert or whatever through Skyward, really you had to call Nicole or Lisa, work through that process, get them to send it out. Uh, this one we can immediately pull
060it up on our computers. We can pick the people that we want to go to, uh, students, parents, staff, etc. by building. You can pick individuals if you want to drill down that far. uh you type one message and then you click that you want it to go email u text message text message will give you like a 200 character limit. So sometimes you you shorten that up a little bit um you can do it voice to or text to voice. So you can either do your own voice or it'll just do it for you with probably an AI voice is the best way to put it. Um and you can do it to social media as well. Uh, and with one click, you can send that out. If we hit the translate button, it's
061going to send uh in the home language that's on Skyward for each of those families. So, there's no more waiting for um our translators to to be able to do that. And that was always an awful thing, right? When there was a school crisis and you wanted to tell parents that their kids were safe, you you wanted to send it out as quickly as you could, but you couldn't get it translated. And that wasn't fair to those families uh at all. So, um we feel really good. that. So, that's been a a great addition this year. We're up and running with that website. I would think in the next two to three months, uh we'll be able to go live with that. Um aren't any major hiccups and then we'll start working on the app
062as well, which will just allow parents to subscribe to whatever schools they want to and then they'll get all the news and communications through the app. So, we're really excited about um those three things. It's a it's a work in progress. Uh, but we're getting there and and when we do, it's really going to be a nice thing for our parents and our community. So, we're excited. >> Sorry, excuse me. >> A question. At the site level, will they have the opportunity? So, principles and and school staff, will they have the opportunity to then engage in a messaging component of the app or the website as well? >> Yeah, tell me what you mean specifically. So, you know, as a parent in the district, I'm wondering how streamlined will this get? So, >> um >>
063I don't know. >> Yeah, there's there's remind there's base, there's or band, there's >> customade newsletters, there's all these different things. So, >> yeah, we're hoping that this will be the primary uh means of communication between staff and parents. >> Okay. >> Um so, trying to streamline that down to one. There are things that a class dojo or whatever may offer from an instructional standpoint that they have can't. So, if you want to be able to log on and see your child's work and things like that, um it it may not, you know, you may still have two loginins, but as far as communication, we really want that on the app, open records request just for safety and and record keeping and things like that. And then obviously for parents just to have one spot
064if you have >> kids. We all have kids. There's six different loginins for every classroom. >> And the and the site could potentially control even drilling down further. The head of the PTO that so this could be a social >> outlet for that. Is it Facebook pages and different feeds? exciting. >> So, is this the communication tool that we as parents are using to contact the teachers or is it like right now you can go through Skyward which I've had limited success on because some of the teachers only use their SASS email. So, like what is that what this is that we would use this to contact teachers as well? That's the hope is that we'll get to a point where that's the communication between teacher and um parent and the app is is a
065work in progress for their company as well. And what you're working with is you're you're working with a structure where as a teacher you're our our teachers are wonderful at figuring out individual parents and how they want to be communicated with because they're just trying to make that communication in a lot of a lot of instances in whatever way they can. So some parents prefer email and that's where they're getting their response so they go with that. Some parents want text message. So that's where you're going with that. But then you got a teacher text messaging the parent with their phones and you just don't like putting them in that position. So the hope is that this can take the place of that doesn't text message but you can get notifications which are going to
066be the same thing as a text message. Um and that if we do a good job on boarding um parents it'll do I think what you're asking it to do. >> All right Mark you're up. Okay. Uh killer three um goal two um is around um I'm sorry pillar four goal one uh just an update uh as we were talking about referendum just about um the next borrow. So, I have been meeting with Barry. I have another meeting with them tomorrow. Um, and they're the ones that kind of really look at timing of borrows as far as, uh, future interest rates from the borrowing end and also interest rates from the earnings end and they try to find that sweet spot for us. So, uh, we're talking through that, seeing what we where we think
067the next borrow would land. Um we'll be calling u another meeting right after October 15th when all the state aid uh comes out from the state because then we have to make a decision because if we do borrow um early this next year we need that um on the levy so that we can pay that first interest payment. So, um it just gives us a real small turnaround to kind of pull the trigger on that, but um so we might have a possible um borrow coming up if everything looks reasonable. And um we'll keep you uh communicated with how that's going to work. But we do understand how that affects the levy and we want to make sure that um we understand where we're coming in with state aid and all that and how that's
068going to affect the levy for next year. As you know, the new state budget put no new general state aid money in that budget. So, uh when we talk about a $325 per pupil increase, that's all on local tax levy right now. So, um, we just want to see where we're at after we get our aid numbers and then I'll make a decision on on the borrow. Um, pillar four, goal two, uh, just note here that, um, the IT department has completed the objective one, which is establishing a secondary data center, which is right here in this building. So the equipment uh was installed and configured and everything up and running in August. They got that going. So um that's kind of a a redundancy thing for the district if there was something catastrophic happened
069to our data center over at Central High. And it also gives us a secondary storage center here too. So uh that one is a checkered flag. I believe it's the first checkered flag of the year. So get excited about that. And then the last uh goal three is around our uh transportation needs. And the only thing I want to highlight here is we did in August we were able to replace uh the camera system on five of our uh Pringy buses. So that system starting to get old and we want to slowly start replacing that. So that's a real help to not only the principles but the bus driver uh just so that when there are incidences they can quickly be dealt with at the building level. So that's that's going to be nice to
070have those cameras in place. That's all I have. Any questions? Well, thank you for your report out. Love to see the green early. Let's take care. Mark promised I'll chuck your legs this year. So, >> I mean, can it be like glittery rainbow purple confetti or something a little bit more exciting? >> We'll see what we can do. >> I would take that. >> All right. Next, we have the board appointed committees. Dr. Conra, >> they're there for your review and we're just seeking approval. Is there a motion to approve the memberships for all school board appointing committees? >> So move. >> Any discussion? >> All in favor say I. >> Motion carries. Thank you. Next we have the completion of school violence drills. Rachel. >> Yes. So on September the 9th at the SNI
071um committee meeting, we shared a pretty comprehensive report around the fact that our crisis manual which serves serves as our school safety plan um was updated that was reviewed. Since that time, we've completed all of our safety training and that happened during the period of September the 2nd through September the 15th. This is our final requirement that we report out annually to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Office of School Safety. We're just making you aware that those drills have been completed in the student training and we're recommending approval so that we can meet the requirement to report this out by July January, not July, but January the 1st, 2026. >> Great. If there are any questions, is there a motion to approve? So move. >> Second. >> All in favor say I. >> I. >>
072Motion carries. Thank you, Rachel. >> Thank you. >> So the next two items F and G will take separate because they're first readings. So we have the introduction of first reading of revised board of education policy 1100 on the district organization. Dr. Kra. >> Straightforward there. So uh you can see the changes in green really. Uh not any major changes. just looking at how we would reconfigure groups of students. Um and obviously that would take your approval. >> Any questions? >> Right. Is there a motion to approve um the revised policy of board of education policy 1100? >> So move second. >> All right. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Motion carries. Thank you. Next item G. Um education policy 1241. nonremployment of the district administrator. >> That was all about it. >>
073That's always a fun one. >> That was a big That was a lot to say, though. >> Uh this is how you get to fire me if you would want to. Um so, not a lot uh here as far as changes go. Um again, just they're adding language here. It's it's pretty much um technical changes. I always feel obliged to make sure that I do a good job explaining these things to you because it's moral ethical consideration there. But there really isn't um any changes here. And I, you know, whether I'm sitting here or someone else, you need to know as a board that if you ever have uh concerns about your superintendent, Bob Burns is our counsel. You have his number. You know that. Uh and that's always your first phone call. So policy
074is great but you want to consult consult counsel with that always as well. >> Right. Is there any discussion? Don't be shy. >> All right. All in favor to accept policy nonremployment of the district administrator. >> Second. >> All in favor say I. >> I. for that. All right. So, items H through um N. Does anyone want any of those taken out? Otherwise, let me take them all together. >> Sounds good. >> All right. I'm seeking a motion to approve on the second readings of policies 5571, 8531, 8540, 8550, 8600, 8660, and 8680. So move >> second. >> Any discussion? All in favor say I. >> I. >> Motion carries. Thank you. >> All right. Next we have the report of committees curriculum and instruction. Okay. >> Um I move for approval of the school
075district's crisis manual. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor say I. >> I. >> Motion carries. And I move for approval of the policy 5335 care of students with chronic health conditions. >> Is there a second? >> The second. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Motion carries. Thank you. Next we have human resources committee. Leo. >> Um I would like to move number one appointments. >> Is there a second? >> Second. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Motion carries. >> And then for number two, I would like to move approval for the leave of absence. >> Second. >> All in favor say I. >> I. >> Motion carries. >> Number three is separations. That is in your packet. Um number four, I would also like to move approval for the
076retirement. >> Second. >> All in favor say I. >> I. >> Motion carries. And then item number five, I move approval for the health reimbursement account or the HRA contributions. Second. >> All right. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Motion carries. Thank you. Next, we have the facilities, recreation, and theater committee. Um Denise, >> uh items one through four are for your information and they are in your packet. >> Thank you. Well done. >> New girl. New girl. >> All right. Next we have the finance and budget committee. Sarah >> um just moving forward with information of fund 141 capital project statement of cash flow revenue and expenditures budget revisions and transfers appropriation. Um so nothing to move forward on that. And then we did hear from Mark on the confirmation of sale
077of house construction. We don't have to vote on that, but we do have to vote on uh the committee is looking for recommendation of approval for the gifts. And thank you to Coler Company, uh EMD, Milipore Company, Community Playlist, Paradigm, um Acutuni, and Coler Company for their large contribution to our district. >> Second. >> All right. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Motion carries. Next we have the special board committees and assignments the legislative round table. Dr. Carrian. >> Yeah, we spoke to the budget concerns and that's what we spoke about with our uh legislature. I think um we're going to see a lot of politicking in the next couple months ahead. So there's going to be a lot of bills introduced uh maybe at the assembly level that don't have any support
078in the Senate, etc. So we'll we'll play that out a little bit. Um, and I think you've you've probably seen that, you know, with me as superintendent now over the last year and a half. We have to get excited, uh, over things that we need to get excited about. If we get excited about everything, uh, it's like, boy, that wolf. So, uh, we watch that really carefully. We kind of sip through what we think could have legs and what might not have legs. Right now, uh the one bill that we thought would have legs and installed is uh the ability to hire uh retired teachers back. Uh and and that was not just retired teachers, it was retired police, retired fire, etc. Um that was one that was really important to us. We felt that
079uh it had legs because it had support across uh both political parties. There was a little bit of a hangup initially with WRS ETF over uh would would the employer still continue to pay um the WRS in on a retired employee? They they revamped that language. So if we hired a retired teacher, we'd continue to pay in for that teacher. Uh that was kind of their concern. So uh ETF WRS is going to be fully funded in that process and it hit a roadblock this week. uh last week what we heard the roadblock may be is that they're trying to carve it out and not have teachers uh included in that bill. So we spoke at length about that how important that is to us and how there obviously should not be a carve out.
080Um so we're going to continue uh fighting that one. Jamie spoke to special ed concerns. Staffing is um at a decent level. I would say we're getting back to the way it used to be. Special ed is still not anywhere near where it needs to be to serve kids uh across the state. It just is and across the nation, right? There just are not enough qualified special ed teachers. So, uh this would go a long way in helping that in the short term as well until we can come up with a fix as a nation that those kids deserve. So, that one that one you got to have on your radar and you got to uh speak up a little bit for. Other than that, I think there's going to be some smoking mirrors going
081on for the next next couple weeks. >> Thank you, Dr. Con. >> All right. Next, we have um public public education foundation, please. >> Yes. So, we have two um two meetings to report on. I think some highlights. The SPF is moving into digitizing their application process, which is very exciting. Um it uh September to February is kind of that pre-planning uh process for students. Um the middle of January the portal will open and they've um set their deadline for February 17th for all qualified candidates to upload and save their work for their application process. Um is once again um sharing information and having their district-wide staff solicitation that is set to drop the first week of October. They have close to 1,700 communications that will go out to staff um to share information about
082the organization and what their contributions go towards. They're working over uh the beginning working through the beginning part of the school year to reach out to the students who have not yet claimed their scholarship just to make sure that they're fulfilling their commitment and um getting those funds where they need to be. And then just to mention for anyone interested, uh November 7th is the um all-in for education Texas Holden tournament that they has become an annual event. Um, it's the 22nd year for that event and tickets are on sale on the SP website. >> Thank you. Sorry, I was just taking notes. >> All right. Next, we have human growth and development. Ellie, >> we held the first meeting of the school year and focused on reviewing goals of the committee. We are focusing
083on the middle school curriculum this school year. The election of new officers was how reviewed overall process and procedure for the way that we focus in on the the very short um bit of content that is a part of the human growth and development journey within the overall health curriculum. Um and we discussed um the scope and sequence in the calendar for the year. We will begin reviewing content um in our next meeting which will be October the 13th. >> Thank you, Ellie. All right. The next item is future meeting dates. October 14th committee meetings at 6 and then October 28th we're board of education meeting. Um is there a motion to journ in favor say I. >> Have a good night. A little 10 words. 10 words. >> I was impressed with that. >>
084I love And I even forgot. So there >> how great I am. talk to my lawyer. Yeah, >> I'm still waiting to see early on Now let down.