001e all right welcome everybody Welcome to our regular board meeting uh de can you do the roll call please yes today is Monday March 18th 2024 the time is 7:03 p.m. this is the uh regular Board of Education meeting for Evon skoki School District 65 roll call Sue here Lindsay Ryan here Kim here hper here Salem here Wilkins here Hernandez here going to go ahead and read Our Land acknowledgement we take time to acknowledge that the land we meet on is the traditional homelands of the Council of Three Fires the patami oju and Odawa the land also served as an important meeting place for Miami hunk the monoman enoa sack Fox Peoria arapo shyen and other tribal Nations this land has long been a center for indigenous people to gather trade and maintain kinship ties
002located the intersection of several great waterways the region has become the site of travel and prosperity we acknowledge Evanson and John Evans are tied to the massacre of the rapaho and shy for railroads and western expansion upon which John Evans developed his wealth and founded Evon this land was violently taken under settler kism through genocide in open Warfare and the region that is now Illinois in Chicago land is still home to thousands of native people who are actively struggling for sovereignty self-determination and Justice the genocidal acts of settler colonialism extended to peoples of Africa and their enslaved descendant despite Illinois eventually prohibiting slavery slavery was an accepted practice before and after statehood the vestages of slavery remain present through the throughout the United States and directly affect the descendants of enslaved peoples descendants who helped
003Define the African diaspora rich and heterogeneous communities descended from African peoples the genocidal patterns of violence against peoples of African descent and Indigenous people have been replicated to exclude and harm people from many intersecting marginalized identities religious minoritized disabled and lgp lgbtqia a identifi peoples bipac and Pac large in the United States these patterns of violence demonstrate that the pursuit to end State sanctioned violence against bipac is a daily struggle for Liberation from continued social political and economic anti-black racism and oppression today we acknowledge that we are living breathing loving grieving laughing and sharing space on unseated territory may we learn to honor the historical and contemporary presence and power of the people and the their belief that we must be caretakers of the lands and Waters for the livelihood of future generation the land
004that surround us is a part of who we are it reflects our histories it is within District 65 responsibility as an academic institution to disseminate knowledge about black and Indigenous peoples and marginalized peoples RIT large consistent with our commitment to equity we will work towards sharing truth and promoting healing for the sake of our children and families it is important to understand the long-standing history that has brought us to reside on the land and seek to understand understand our place within that history land acknowledgements do not exist in the past tense or only in a historical context colonialism is a current ongoing process and we need to understand our present participation we encourage everyone consuming the message to continue expanding their knowledge and reduce their harm through awareness of local Mutual Aid models for survival
005and engagement with online and local resources such as the Chicago American Indian Community collaborative and the shorefront legacy center okay the next item we have is the um we have District also let me I want do I want to announce our um translation services see I okay gracias um next item up is the approval for the meeting agenda I move that the meeting agenda be amended to have contracts over $225,000 be removed from the consent agenda for itemized approval and that we remove item 22 the resolution authorizing the non renewal of administrative contracts and The Honorable dismissal of Administrators and item 23 the resolution authorizing the reduction in force of educational support Personnel from the agenda second Sue yes Lindsey Ryan Yes Kim yes Halper yes Salem yes Wilkins yes Hernandez yes it looks like
006the new location of those contracts will be right after the consent agenda as itemized list thank you for that joint next up on our agenda is our district update so I'll hand it over to Dr Turner if you have any updates for us awesome we do have update so tonight we are recognizing our February and March high five celebrating excellence and District 65 award recipients now in its seventh year we have received hundreds of nominations and honored nearly 100 license and support staff members for their tremendous work I would like to thank by Line Bank for its continued support and sponsorship of the program over the course of this school year this evening's recipients will receive a $100 gift card and a framed recognition certificate I am now going to turn it over to Melissa
007messenger our chief School Communications officer thank you Dr Turner yes tonight we are rep recognizing both our February and March recipients so we have four individuals sha Johnson Isaiah Hernandez lra fields and Latasha MIT [Applause] Mitchell thank you all so we are going to invite our recipients to come up individually for recognition and then we'll take a group photo afterwards so first up we're going to recognize our February licensed staff recipient Isaiah Hernandez if you want to come [Applause] up Mr Hernandez is the registered nurse at Washington Elementary school and has served our students and families for one year he was nominated by one of our family members who I believe is here this even do you want to come up and give some remarks okay um well just for why I uh nominated Mr
008nandes um well he's always kind and calm but the day I thought about it was the night evening we'd come home from a doctor's appointment and my son had an upper respiratory T infection and was needing to do these inhaler treatments while at school and I thought I'll email the nurse tonight tomorrow I'll deal with it and it's okay if he misses one day of his inhaler but almost as soon as I sent that email I got a response from Miss Jan on this that said here's what you need to fill out here's what you need to send with him tomorrow so that he can do his inhaler and I just thought that to me is going above and beyond um and I really appreciated it it felt like um a lot of care going
009towards my family and so I thought of him when I came to that announcement and I'm so happy that you are being [Applause] recognized thank you both thank you Mr Hernandez um so next we are going to recognize our February education support staff recipient Sean [Applause] Johnson [Music] so thank you so Mr Johnson is our school concierge at Haven Middle School and has been a part of our community for 13 years now is that right yes um and he was nominated by one of our staff members Shay Springer are you here this evening good evening everyone thank you all for allowing me to speak on well speak about Sean really briefly it is so easy for us to talk about all the things that we do wrong and it's so easy to put a person
010down it's so easy to look down on the smaller person and not recognize them and I made a commitment to myself this year that I was going to make sure I pick one person or two people to celebrate them because I really wanted to go in and step into the joy factor and I think that's so important that we actually honor the joy factor I live my life every day in joy and I'm so appreciative and I want to give that joy to someone else and that person is Sean joh had to be at our school for like 3 months the coner Services switched um coner just to give them the experience in a different school and I don't care how many times I walked past sha Sean said hey Miss Springer how you doing
011hey Miss Springer how's your day going hey Miss Springer you don't look like you're doing good I'll turn around and look at him and he'll just like has this like yeah he has this amazing laugh in this amazing person personality and it just warmed my heart every day and to have the opportunity to work with someone who is professional have the opportunity to work with someone who is kind and greets everyone with a smile how could I not recognize this fabulous human black man that's standing in front of us so I just want to say thank you Sean for being absolutely amazing welcoming and just a beautiful soul you deserve this thank you [Applause] thank you so much Mr Johnson so um lastly we are recognizing a team of individuals so this is our March
012license staff recipient Latasha Mitchell and our March support staff recipient leitra fields are you both here this evening [Applause] so Miss Mitchell is an interventionist at Oakton Elementary and has served our students and families for more than 17 years now and Miss Fields is a school concierge at King Arts who has served serve students and families for four years now uh both of them were nominated by oaken's athletic director Jacob Murphy who I do not believe is here this evening is that correct okay he sent us remarks um so Jacob shared the following about both of the March recipients I would like to nominate Oaken cheerleading team coaches Latasha Mitchell and lra Fields these incredible women have not only formed one of the largest cheer teams in d65 but most importantly have empowered our students
013to be positive role models on and off the court their dedication to fostering strength leadership and positiv positivity has created a team of inspiring student athletes they have brought positive school spirit not only to to basketball games but to the entire Oakton School Community please help us celebrate coach Mitchell and Coach fields for conducting an exceptional leadership at Oakton and to all of District 65 [Applause] Athletics sorry if all of our recipients can come back up for their uh photos and awards and one more round of applause please [Applause] great now [Applause] all right so we have a video that we would like to show you so please turn your attention to the screen the Dual language program is amazing it's incredible and just the fact that they're able to make so many connections between
014the two languages I had the privilege to come back into the community and teach and really um I see myself in these kids' shoes all the time and just really going back and seeing how much great work my teachers did as a kid to really make me feel welcomed especially as an English language learner myself growing up I only understand Spanish I only spoke [Music] Spanish we are proud to support all of our English Learners E's and are committed to continuing to Foster bilingualism and cultural exchange with our dual language program well first let's take a look at what our district currently offers all of our programs are designed to meet state of Illinois legal requirements which includes providing equal access to programs and prioritizing seats for English Learners in many cases we go above
015and beyond to provide our students with the highest quality learning experience we are ahead of the game too only 4% of Illinois school districts currently have dual language programs at their core all of our programs are designed to first and foremost meet the learning needs of English Learners as space allows our programs are expanded to serve our english- speaking students and to foster a truly immersive bicultural [Music] experience for once a tweet English learner moves into sixth grade they will enroll in a Spanish language arts class and receive support in Spanish in their other classes from an ESL educator in the new po language program in middle school students will spend 50% of their instructional day in Spanish and 50% in English the focus of Middle School shifts to supporting students's fluency in both languages
016within their content areas this means the program no longer follows the linguistic composition of the classroom 50% Spanish speaking and 50% English speaking because this distinction is no longer meaningful for a classroom full of bilingual students you know the teachers are really putting in the work to make it a cross Collaborative Learning environment uh with the Dual language is that we are really celebrating their background and their culture and really putting that interest perspective into their minds the pillars of dual language are bilingual biliterate students can read write listen and speak fluently in two languages have gr level success academically social cultural allow student opportunities for deeper cultural understanding as they develop bilingual and biliterate language [Music] skills [Music] as you can see dual language programs are designed to prepare all students to navigate the
017world and the workforce in two Global [Music] languages we sincerely thank you for watching this video we want to emphasize our commitment to supporting our English Learners and providing a program that prepares them for a brighter future the we all right thank you all so much for sharing in that video with [Applause] us okay so uh in terms of just superintendent updates I just I know we're getting ready to embark on um a very very much needed spring break and so I want to wish all of our uh d65 staff uh a great spring break please get some rest and relax when we come back we come back actually April 1st and we have a long stretch a long two months until the remaining end of this school year and so I want to just
018publicly thank everyone for all of your support and for all of the work that you've done to make our children in this District successful and that you will continue to do and so again get some rest and get some J factor in and enjoy yourself doing your time off thank you Dr Turner again I E Echo your sentiments again I want to thank all of our staff and all our families uh for again getting this through to the close to the finish line here to get to our Spring Breaks I know all of us even as parents are looking forward to having a little break and spending some time with our kiddos but not too long uh but you know just that one week uh but yeah no you know again thank you to all
019of you um again it's just you do some incredible incredible work um and then just to comment a little bit on the on the video that uh Dr Turner and I created again this is a response to historical issue in regards to how we communicate with families particularly on our two-way immersion programs uh some of the things that I would hear as an educator in bilingual programs uh is there's a lot of misinformation in the community uh you have uh families who again will be offered who are multi who are Spanish speaking native who will be offered these services but they'll say well you know my my child needs to learn English and I can teach them them Spanish uh but again the re research is very clear uh when you have a high quality
020dual language program um your child is going to excel in both uh their native language as well as uh the the the target language um and you know this is just the first of many efforts to communicate with families the benefits of uh the Dual language education um i' I've asked our Administration and our Communications folk to again start you we'll be showcasing families uh in future videos kind to share their experiences with the program um I'll be sharing some of my experiences having been an educator as well as um a parent with kiddos in dual language programs just to kind of share what the benefits are uh colleagues I don't know if you have any comments that you want to share okie dokie hearing none uh the next item is the on our agenda
021is the public comments members of the public are welcome and invited to address the board during open meet open public meetings speakers are discouraged from using the public comment period to air specific concerns about staff members being mindful that the public common period is not a suitable form for fact finding or resolution of disputes rather we encourage members of the public who have concerns about specific District employees to follow District communication guidelines in the student handbook please remember to state your name and that you have three minutes to address the board also note that it is not customary for the board to respond to public comments the best way to correspond with the members of the board is by emailing Schoolboard district 65.net and with that adila do we have any folks signed up for
022public comment yes we have quite a few folks signed up um I'll go ahead and read off a few names if you want to come line up here um I'll start with Michael Rodriguez Larson Dr Baker all right can you uh you all hear me yes all right cool um it's with great honor and privilege to speak about the powerful community at Oakton Elementary for those who don't know me my name is Michael Rodriguez and I've been the Drama teacher at Oakton Elementary for seven school years uh during my time I've witnessed four building administrative changes four superintendent changes and many abusive manipulative decisions and mismanagement by school boards and central office Personnel one constant the growth and passion for the success of the Oakton Elementary Community by the Oakton Community themselves before the pandemic
023shut down the 201920 school year our school Community Was preparing a major reamp of tier one supports doing away with compliance-based tactics in which students would be awarded with small Trinkets and toys we pivoted towards a trauma-informed emotional skill building and creating a climate of empathy through gr grade level assemblies with an older grade and younger grade the idea that being giving older students an opportunity to showcase their leadership qualities while being a sort of mentor or role model as a younger for younger students spearheaded by the art teacher Mera Hernandez we had hoped these types of experiences would create a sense of tried and buy in for both older and younger students and I'd say we were successful even in the midst of the pandemic The Passion of this program was the driving force
024to make every effort and translate this experience into a digital format while difficult and complicated the successes were still there to my knowledge Washington Elementary has ad adopted a similar style of programming after the initial years at Oakton all because of a concept started by Marissa Hernandez and Oakton Elementary currently caring cougars is in a phase of evolution doing the way with assembly based messaging and presenting more Hands-On activities to put theal skill sets in action through field trips school events like an inflatable Planetarium and after school events put on collaboration with our PTA since the stay- atome times I feel like our community has become more powerful and proud while I only spoke about one aspect of Oakton there are so many other points I could have and probably should have touched upon our
025exemplary uh blessings program which ensures our families and students are fed and have nutritional groceries at home our fantastic before and after child care team our beautiful and very old structure of a building how Oakton is essentially three schools Under One Roof with our non-magnet twe and ACC program and it's the home of the hardest working sped team in the district led by the one and only Emily Meyer Oakton is a special place that not many will ever truly understand because they won't stay long enough to allow themselves to be immersed in it Oakton Elementary will continue to be a trend Setter and prove any and all haters wrong with my seven years in counting at Oakton me and my colleagues who stick around will continue to see to it thank you hi I'm losing
026my voice I'm sorry I'm Simone Larsson um I'm a District 65 educator I'm a deck member a skoki Evon resident and assumed to be District 65 parent of of an incoming kindergartener at Walker this fall uh my son is our first and that makes my husband and I first time parents to public elementary school we are navigating the registration process and open houses and everything in between the best we can but I am very nervous as I'm sure so many incoming kindergarten um parents naturally are I have so many questions that are running through my mind is our son ready will kids be kind to him will he be kind to others uh will he fall behind will he hate school and cry every morning before he goes will he ever have to eat alone
027in the cafeteria there's also so much to fear when we're looking at our national landscape and I worry about this trickling down to our community even in the smallest of ways from book Bannings and hateful don't say gay legislation to the attack on teachers Free Speech around critical race theory in places like Florida and Texas to more local issues having to do with economic uncertainty um and none of this helps any of my worry but there is one thing that does manage to calm my fears and that is that every single parent I talk to um local neighbors friends family they all say the same thing kindergarten is great they say my kid absolutely loves it they are really really happy what makes it so great I ask well my kid loves their teachers the
028teachers make it great isn't that the truth the people who have the greatest impact on my child and every child every other child's educational experience in this District are our Educators earlier today members of deck our District 65 Union met for a planning meeting they are prepping for another bargaining session with our current administration because our contract is up this year I want to highlight the negotiation team's hard work and to give them a shout out for representing all of our 757 deck Educators across all of our 18 schools we know what makes an educational experience meaningful all of us in this room know what truly matters and what matters is the people who are face to face with our community's children children every day our District 65 educator should be appreciated and what that
029really means is that they should have safe working conditions manageable working expectations and that they should be fairly compensated for their labor of love how else are we going to attract and retain highquality Educators in this community there is so much left to learn about the field of Education thanks to Cutting Edge brain research and we are constantly learning new ways to educate our W our kids but there are some things we already know about what is best for our children and that is who we choose to put in front of them here in Evon we have some of the best most dedicated brilliant Educators across the state of Illinois and it's time they felt that love and gratitude they so deserve how we treat our Educators matters because their working conditions are our children's
030learning conditions thank you and wear red on Wednesdays please thank you [Applause] to the school board to Dr Turner and Council to the EV community and to deck who's representing tonight I Dr Baker and I have the distinct honor of serving as the district educator council president as de president I have had a very unique perspective into the going on of the certified staff who are under our CBA as many know I was born and raised in Evon my mother and her siblings attend Evon schools from Foster to King lab I myself attended Timber Ridge and graduated from fifth grade at Walker school so my Roots Run Deep in Evanston I say all this to say that many Educators in this District have similar backgrounds deep roots in Evon they come here because of the
031high quality education their children can receive from the dedicated Educators who work here over the course of the past five years Evon has undergone a lot of changes a lot when new new superintendent to aass exit of Educators to covid to a decline in student enrollment to an interim superintendent and now we here are on the cusp of another new superintendent as I stand Here representing the over 770 members I want to to ensure the board and the community and our Educators that our voice is heard I want to ensure that we have that seat at the table in all areas of District Endeavors finally I want to remind the board and the community that we are invested in the future of anston and that we are standing United to that end since my again
032began my tenure eight years eight months ago eight years ago eight months ago uh my EXA team and I have heard all kinds of stories from many Educators across the district we have heard working we have heard about working diligent we have been working diligently on behalf of our members to ensure that they feel supported this and heard and we will certainly continue to do so especially since we are in negotiations with the school board for our new CBA we are ready to bargain for the collective we are ready to speak their voice and concerns to you the board this Administration so we want you to know that we are here and we are ready finally at the start of my I found this quote that I've been utilizing for my time here and I've
033said it to our Z team and I say it to our members every once in a while it says people who cannot who say cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it we are here and we are doing it always keeping our students at the center thank you the next few speakers we have are Victoria BCT um Andrew pend Bridget uter and Brandon utter good evening Dr Turner members of the school board fellow Deck members and EV Evanston residents um my name is Victoria bck I'm a teacher at Walker this is my colleague Michelle Kelly uh we're proud to share that Walker educators are truly committed and give their all each and every day um on behalf of our Educators I just wanted to share some exciting Walker highlights uh with all
034of you this evening um at Walker we had a special event called one book one school and that was organized by our PTA in coordination with black history month so volunteers came to our school and read some the same book at the same time to all of the classrooms for uh Black History Month uh career day speakers were organized by our PTA and the African-American speakers shared about their their career so we had speakers in the health field media law law enforcement and music industry we had um a wonderful February and kindness is the norm at Walker so we um had a attacked by kind kindness um thing going on where classrooms wrote notes Drew pictures and purchased uh small items for each other pencils erasers whatnot and they gave them to other classrooms anonymously
035through the month of February uh third grade had a virtual uh Zoom visit with an astrophysicist um Dakota Tyler and he's a science communicator and a keynote speaker um we had 3 fourth and fifth graders participating in the biblo Mania reading program and finally uh Walker fourth grade girls and fifth grade boys participated in the district basketball program the girls basketball team won the districtwide championship and the boys basketball team also won the fifth grade districtwide championship we just wanted to share that Joy Factor at Walker um and that's about it thank you for [Applause] listening good evening members of the board and all intendant Teck members as well um my name is Drew fend I am a uh EB also previously known as teacher at Lincoln Elementary School dolphins swim together um uh we
036are the Dolphins and uh to start um our monthly int um intention celebrations um in our school every month has as most schools do uh we have in uh a monthly intention allyship empathy oh why am I forgetting them when I'm in front of a bunch of people um that aren't students uh empowerment and advocacy so and every month when we wrap up we we highlight those uh of our students who um Embrace and show those um great traits and we we make sure that when we round out those months with those intentions that those intentions are remembered and they're um emphasized and supported encouraged um our dolphin Pilots program um dolphins swim together as we all know we uh for the last few years have had a uh system on our half days where
037um two one or two students from each uh grade level has a pod leader it's a teacher a different teacher that they're not usually exposed to throughout the year um that leads this pod and uh you have you'll have a kindergartener first grader second grader third grader fourth grader fifth grader the fifth graders May roll their eyes and the kindergarteners may not know where they are or who you are but it is a group of um people from different areas that don't usually get to see one another that get to meet one another and have a meaningful experience together centered around um uh uh events such as Black History Month um studies or um um Native American studies uh issue the things that any any um topic or or um piece of interest that we
038can bring our monthly intentions to and get that Community built I have a kindergartner who I now know very well and she every time she sees me she's like I know you um and it's a it's a great feeling to have that Community built up uh our knitting club is excellent our one of our speech language Pathologists has started it it is during the day I believe during PE or lunch but I believe no it's during lunch sorry Stephen Wilson you're wonderful uh there's a group of fourth graders that just go in there and knit and it is it is really cool that they come out with I mean those needles are a little scary sometimes but you know we all got to do what we got to do um and our math night was
039a huge success I was a participant I I ran the Tower of Hanoi group it was excellent we had great second graders first graders kindergartners playing Tower of Hanoi uh a huge turnout it was excellent our literacy night is coming up very very soon very excited for that as well hope hoping to do a read aloud if I'm available and our kindergarteners have a monster collaboration with eths I got to run for time um they our kindergarteners make monsters and send them to eths and eths students in their fashion design program knit them create them and then I believe give them a psychological profile sing out dolphin swim together my name is Bridget otter and I'm a roads parent I'm asking the school board tonight to maintain its original plan to keep Bessie roads whole
040we don't understand the implications of closing Bessie roads yet I see multiple Schoolboard members wanting to push full steam ahead with closing the school this is despite the fact that at recent board meetings board members have demonstrated a lack of understanding of who attends the school and what its purpose is the original plan was never to close Bessie roads it was to move the school to a new location because of this there has never been careful discussion of what will happen if you actually close the school while some of the students at Bessie roads would go to the Fifth Ward School the majority of students in Bessie roads reside outside the Fifth Ward do we know where all these children will go I've heard Walker mentioned but Walker does not have twe while the budgetary
041issues we face are real I appreciate that the financial adviser Dr gry highlights that the district still has a great deal of funding available rather than being laser focused on Cuts this becomes a question of our priorities and of choosing to invest in programs that yield the most returns for our students Bessie rhods is such a program the school is very unique multiple school districts in our area already offer K through 8 dual language with overt linkage to high school by this measure District 65 is behind but Bessie rhods offers a wall to--all k38 twe program and this is both unique in our area and has potential to become a best practice model in dual language programming we need to push ourselves to see well beyond our legal obligations other districts recognize this District 65
042should too twe strands in general schools are not the same as wall toall twe General schools have competing power dynamics where the voices of the privileged are stronger but wall toall twe schools are built around a singular goal of promoting evidence-based dual language programming board president Mr Hernandez has mentioned repeatedly the need to provide wraparound services to our students Bessie rhods is the ideal school for doing this as every aspect of the school and services offered can be tailored to meet the needs of emerging multilingual students and their families at Bessie roads the Spanish language is recognized as an equal to English not as an afterthought or is an alternative track to the norm this is a completely different Dynamic than a twe Strand and the data supports that there are important cohort effects in
043terms of how the design and makeup of dual language programs impact student outcomes I urge you to pause to consider these and many other factors as you debate the outright closure of Bessie roads please make the choice to invest in something unique and important that will set our district apart as an innovator in dual language programming thank you [Applause] hello I'm Brandon utter Bessie rhods parent first off I wanted to make some comparisons of King arts and Bessie rhods as all of the proposed reasons to close Bessie roads apply to King arts in a far more compelling manner using Illinois report card data I've determined that if you close King arts and those students disperse to the district their cost per student per year would be close to the mean and you would save over
044$2 million per year when the same logic is applied to Bessie roads you save 500,000 per year King Arts also has more students in its attendance that live in the Fifth Ward than besy roads and King Arts also has a direct historical connection without the closing of foster School King Arts would not exist the idea that Bessie roads closure is linked to the building of the Fifth Ward school is misdirected at the very least and absurd when you consider that Bessie rhods is a wall toall twe program if nothing is done with King Arts when the fifth board school is open the cost per student per year already the highest in the district at $29,000 per student per year would Skyrocket to over $35,000 per student per year far more expensive than any other school
045costing millions of dollars per year with no additional benefit to students Bessie rhods was pulled into these plans by being told that Ka twe Integrity would be maintained as a school within a school model that is what the Bessie roads Community wants if King arts and Bessie roads were combined in the current King arts building in a school within a school model the cost per student per year would be close to the district mean even after adding $2 million for extra administrative cost this not only allows Bessie roads to remain a K8 twe program it would save nearly $20 million in the 5 years following the opening of The Fifth Ward school since it normalizes the cost per student per year Bessie roads will fit the king arts building capacity is 653 students and enrolls
046404 presently Bessie rhods enrolls 273 making 677 total in both schools once the fifth W School opens we can estimate that about 50 students from Bessie rhods 80 students from King Arts will attend the fifth W school this would make the king roads attendance approximately 550 students or around 85% capacity to my knowledge the district goal for school capacity is 85% this may be less than ideal for some but the other options generally include shutting down King Arts after another five years and $20 million have gone to waste without benefiting the students of District 65 and I welcome the opportunity to discuss these numbers further please call me up if if you want to talk about them thank you very much [Applause] the remaining speakers are Kelly balr Joe Hernandez Tom Hayden and Beth Brady
047hello my name is Kelly baldr I have two children one of whom is still in District 65 at Nicholls middle school and one who spent 11 years in the district from preschool through 8th grade he's now a freshman at eths um I'm also part of this year's leadership team on the caregiver Council for disability inclusion ccdi I come to speak in support of the new inclusion policy my now freshman has Down syndrome and he had better and worse years in in District 65 but generally speaking the trend in the district moved toward more inclusion uh for children with disabilities during his time I'm there I attribute a lot of this progress to Rome de christafaro's arrival and the district is now at an inflection point with her departure um this policy feels like a Capstone
048to her time here and ccdi appreciates the fact that we were able to consult with her on the policy that is now before you I sincerely hope that the new person hired for her position will continue the efforts she's been making it's it's not easy work and takes time to train everyone in the system to understand the wise and hows of including children with all disabilities but the benefits both to kids with disabilities and without are well worth the effort thank you very [Applause] much all right hello everyone this is a a kind of a Washington Elementary update as well we've got an awesome program I'm here to talk about talk about so thank you very much for having me I'm here to talk about the student ambassador student recess ambassador bassador program at Washington
049uh it started up last year by the wonderful Katie Klein and Mike Elliott um it is where 25 students per grade three through five uh they facilitate our recess games um they are the referees they are the peacekeepers and they are also participants um students take on these responsibilities um they bring equipment out they enforce the rules um and they do they teach pre-taught games in PE that I'm a PE teacher at Washington we teach these in the beginning of the year and we roll them out and we um we try to switch up the games throughout the year um but they have specific responsibilities they wear sashes they look really cute and they engage with younger grades so third grade with kindergarten fourth grade with first and uh fifth grade was second so uh
050needless to say the kindergarten shift um on the playground is uh highly coveted um it's um something that has been used to uh improve Behavior Uh increase engagement among peers um we my colleague Monica guz and I have monthly meetings with these students and we have a grow and glow session where they can just talk about what they see is happening what they think they can resolve conflict or um sometimes they just want to kind of sit around the water cooler and talk about uh what is not going well and it's a good place to vent so um it's it's been a great experience um the program aligns with our Washington core values one is one is love ourselves uh through acts of kindness out on the playground right um uh we support and encourage
051each other on the playground this is what student recess ambassadors do we learn learn together another core value we actively engage in learning experiences beyond the classroom so every day they have that opportunity um we appreciate differences uh we are all from different spaces and places and uh through structured games on the playground we are able to uh experience those differences and solve problems um and have fun in in in recess time and then take action right so if you see something do something take take initiative and be referee but also be a good teammate um yeah so the student recess ambassador program has been pival to pivotal to creating a supportive and inclusive uh recess environment um ultimately benefiting in social emotional and academic well-being for our students so thank you very much that
052is the washing update thank [Applause] you hello my name is Tom Hayden uh I wrote a a really fiery speech but I'm not going to give it because it doesn't match the Vibes of this room right now uh DR Horton uh when he left he owed $25,000 the board knows this you signed a repayment agreement with him and recently uh he as you as the board knows he was delinquent and he owes considerable late fees uh and I believe the board waved those late fees improperly um I'm in this room right now and there's a lot of a lot of cool stuff people want to do I'm watching you know talking to teachers talking to everyone here and there's a lot of stuff a lot of really good stuff happening but to get there the
053district needs to exercise Financial discipline and when I bring up Dr Horton and when I bring up the the repayment agreement and the waiver of the $110,000 in fees uh you know I come to the board and I say you know Financial discipline needs to start with you it needs to start from the very top uh this District wants to accomplish a lot of really great stuff and it's you know we're at a time where you're going to be asking for austerity because of C um and you need to be the you the school board need to be the ones demonstrating that Financial discipline first thank [Applause] you hi good evening um thanks for having us I am Andrea Michigan a 34 TW teacher at do I'm Beth Brady ESL at do and we are
054here representing Daw Educators and we wanted to uplift some of the incredible work that our teaching staff is doing um do offers opportunities for enrichment and academics and the Arts including math Olympiad for grades four and five and math club serving grades 2 uh our spring concert with our music and Orchestra classes and our family literacy night with activities in Spanish and English um with help for families to sign up for public library cards are a couple recent examples each year our African-American achievement committee organizes a schoolwide interdisciplinary study performance and exhibition for Black History Month this year our grade level study topics were based on the book Black is a rainbow color and culminated with musical performances and student presentations Miss Hamilton's fifth graders have been elevating the many languages spoken at dos creating
055multilingual number talk podcasts and sharing our Eagle affirmations during morning announcements in Spanish English eura French American Sign Language and Shashi this year our faal Educators launched a faal fair during parent teacher conferences to engage our families and facilitate connections with Community organizations and our staff continues to engage in lesson studies and peer observations to deepen our knowledge of new curriculum and to learn from our colleagues our time is short these are just a couple of examples we appreciate the opportunity to share the Innovative respons uh responsive and joyful teaching that goes on at da thank [Applause] you sh sternstein sh sternstein thanks my name is Shaya sternstein and like Tom said I'm so thrilled to be here with teachers tonight and hope I'm not taking away from that but I do have a request
056of the board I would request that we have an immediate publication of the World War II and any Holocaust material that's been revamped or piloted or redone by d65 currently um if you look back in the March 4th meetings um notes for the curriculum instructions we have a new World War II unit and as a Jewish parent in d65 again we would like to ask that that curriculum is published for review I'm really hopeful that the pilot was included um Jewish curriculum experts maybe even members of the board that are Jewish so that we could have that um updated we have sent in a foyer request and await responses on March 15th we also as d65 parents received an email from the school board that the World War II curriculum That was supposed to start
057in early March was underway it was a little Discerning to know that we received the email mid-march um with no explanation about why we are be we were being notified late we I I assume this is the new material I'm not 100% sure but in my request to you an email which I will send this evening I'd like to know that as well in the March 15th email we also saw that the World War II curriculum was now being bundled with islamophobia we want to make sure that you understand we understand this is an extremely important topic but we want the Jewish lived experience to live on its own and bundling the Holocaust teachings with anything else just simply doesn't give it the magnitude that it needs we met with you in the fall at
058yofresh and we express to you how much How concerned we were after October 7th and we appreciate the time that you took to talk to us and know that you needed that time and Grace from us to respond to the situations that happened we've had graffiti we've had situations at da Elementary School that are very public sense that and many other things and we're looking for more direction we're looking for more help to combat the anti-Semitism that we are seeing in t65 we're just not in a place where we can wait any longer we are looking for you to give us guidance and partner with national federal organizations that I know you've talked to that can so that we can all come together and move forward and combat this problem we really again we fyed
059for the curriculum and we'll write you emails as well and we really appreciate your time and your efforts and look for continued partnership thank [Applause] you that concludes the public comments for tonight as always thanks to all the public who engages us again this is a very important part of the work that we do we're here to listen to you and again as I mentioned please reach reach out to us via a School Board of distri 65 so we give you responses uh but again thank you again for your participation in public comment period next item up is our approval of the superintendent employment contract I move at the Board of Education approve and direct the board president and secretary to execute the superintendent Employment contract for the 2024 2025 through 2026 2027 school years
060with Dr Angel Turner in substantially the form of the contract presented to the board second call Sue yes Lindsey Ryan Yes Kim yes hper yes Salem yes Wilkins yes Hernandez yes motion passes [Applause] so on behalf of the school board I thrilled to announce Dr Angel Turner as the next superintendent of Evanson Ski School District 65 effective immediately her appointment was approved unanimously at tonight's regular board meeting so Dr Turner has gone above and beyond having served as our interim leader since last July she has proven herself to be a capable deeply knowledgeable and human- centered leader Dr Turner cares deeply about our students and staff and has become extremely invested in our community over the past several years her experience passion and inclusive leadership style is exactly what our school district needs to move
061our goals and priorities forward Dr Turner shares in the commitments of our community in prioritizing Equity increasing our financial stability and ensuring all students have access to a challenging high quality learning experience in a supportive safe environment having continuity in the form of Dr Turner's already study leadership will be impactful beyond measure in the coming years our school board partner with the Illinois station of school boards to conduct an independent National search which attracted nearly 40 candidates we heard from more than 600 community members through a survey and focus groups about the qualities they wanted in District 65 is next superintendent Chief among them Financial Acumen Equity understanding leadership in retaining the best and brightest Educators an individual who is transparent and collaborative an internal interview panel of school and District staff union leaders and
062administrators overwhelmingly agreed that Dr Turner truly embodied those qualities among the finalists throughout the past year Dr Turner has returned time and again to District 6's big five core values courtesy professionalism dignity respect and humanization using these values as a road map she is leading the district through a robust budget reduction plan a reimagined fifth wart School the launch of rigorous new curriculum and student academic growth in several key areas despite the weight of the work being done she has managed to also censor The The J factor or Joy factor in students learning celebrating fostering curiosity throughout our schools so prior to becoming an intern superintendent Dr Turner served as our assistant superintendent of schools and director of literacy in d65 she has also worked in education for over 20 years so we're excited about
063what the future holds and look forward to hosting a welcome reception this spring for our community to meet and get to know Dr Turner better more information will be for forthcoming thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you everyone to the members of the school board the faculty and the staff of District 65 the ski community and to all of my [Applause] family to all of my family and friends who are present tonight are watching on live I am deeply honored and humbled to be in your presence today as a newly appointed superintendent for the Evon Ski School District 65 it is with immense gratitude y'all know I'm a Waterhead sorry it is with the men's gratitude and a profound sense of responsibility that I accept this role knowing the Deep
064Impact it carries on the lives of our students Educators staff families and Community the unwavering belief trust confidence and faith that each board member has placed in me to continue to lead this District toward Excellence I hold in high regard I assure this school board District team and community that I will do everything and I do mean everything in my power to First and for most serve the young people and staff in District 65 to the best of my ability as I continue to embark on this incredible journey I am reminded of the words of the great Maya Angelou who once said I've learned I've learned that people will forget what you said people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel it is with this sentiment commit
065in mind that I pledge to continue to serve with humanization compassion Integrity transparency accountability and a Relentless commitment to equity and educ excellence and education I as I recognize the challenges and hard decisions that lie ahead of us it is the Hope for the future of this District that gives me joy in my present I extend my heartfelt thanks to the cabinet to the district School leaders the school board members Educators educational support staff families and the wider Community for entrusting me with this vital role each of you have been key Partners in our efforts to improve student outcomes and build a stronger more inclusive School District Community your dedication to the success and well-being of our students is truly inspiring and I am eager to continue you collaborating with each and every one of
066you to create a brighter future for all I would be remissed if I did not express my deepest appreciation to my incredible mother my mother-in-law please rest in peace whose unwavering support is so many ways and believe in me have been a guide in light throughout my entire life to my loving husband my children and my beloved family members thank you for your endless love understanding and encouragement your untiring support sustains me in both my personal and professional work and without your encouraging words and filling in the gap for me at home I would not be able to do it so thank you thank you thank you to my dearest friends my mentors who are here and allies your wisdom your guidance and friendship have been invaluable on this journey thank you for always being
067in my corner for always having my back and believing in me to follow my passion and dreams I am extremely grateful for your presence in my life in closing I am filled with hope and determination as I step into this appointed role as superintendent Evanson Ski School District 65 together let us build a school community that uplifts empowers and inspires every not just one every single student to reach their full potential it's with unity it's with resilience and a shared vision of Excellence I am confident that we can achieve great things so again thank you from the bottom of my heart for this incredible opportunity to serve as your superintendent let us embark on this journey together with courage courage compassion and a steadfast commitment to the future of our children thank [Applause] [Music] you
068[Applause] thank you for accepting H this this challenge uh as you know there's many challenges ahead uh but you've been stepping up and I think this board recognizes that and we know you're going to continue stepping up you and your team so thank you for all that you've done so far and that what you are going to do cuz we we all us together in this community have a lot to do uh so to realize the vision that you just shared thank you the next item in our consent agenda as our consent agenda om I move that the Board of Education accept the recommendations outlined in the attached group motion and approve the February 2024 board and committee meeting minutes destruction of January February 2022 closed session meeting recordings and review of minutes January 2024
069list of bills treasurers report and budget amendments press 113 policy updates the inclusion policy and the Northern Illinois independent purchasing Cooperative agreement second Sue yes lindsy Ryan Yes Kim yes hper yes Salem yes Wilkins yes Hernandez yes motion passes 70 hey the next item up are our contracts oh you know what let's do you want to get a picture with your family before do you want to get a picture with your family no we're going to take a quick pause and we're going to we're going to take if you're if you're Angel's family come back in we're going to get a photo yes please sorry so they don't have to stay four hours yes yeah it get a picture so so they don't have to stay four hours go take picture with got it I
070got them walking away board two board one sorry I don't want to make a family yeah good idea family [Music] [Applause] she's every class ask oh really my gosh [Applause] that's she ever make I mean I you know and then um yeah e all right next item up is our contracts the first contract will be with public school works I move that the Board of Education approve a three-year contract with public school works for $27,600 in the first year and 58,4 196 in the second year for compliance and training PDS and software second so this is for compliance software training for staff like those modules that they do every year correct it is a repl your CL gcn it's replacing gcn yes it's a it's it's a um it's a planed gcn yeah replacing it
071awesome um me and the HR department have been over it and reviewed it and things that nature thank you just to be gcn videos are like the ones that all staff have to do every year for like bloodborne pathogens blah blah blah so okay cool thank you thank you questions okay I'll take the vote Sue yes Lindsey Ryan Yes Kim yes hper yes Salem yes Wilkins yes Hernandez yes motion passes 70 I move that the Board of Education approve a contract with child care careers for contractual substitute services for Doorway to Learning child care center in the amount of $227,000 second can you share a little bit about what the substitute services for Doorway to Learning child care center are covered under this quarter of a million dollar contract they're paid for out of the
072Grant in the Family Center so it's coming from a grant yeah and what does the money go towards it pays the agency where the substitutes come to support where we have Staffing shortages in the Family Center so we have lots of sub cover sub we do because we have continuous openings yeah that that's a hard to uh it's hard for us to really get staff um we're talking about as we talked about some things that we need to reimagine with that of thinking about that moving forward but right now it's just a hardto fill place for us um here in the district right is the 227,000 a guaranteed amount or is that an up to amount like I believe it's an up to amount okay yeah thank you but like with anything we would submit
073follow a process where we submit invoices for services that render then we pay accordingly if it's going to go above that we would come back to you to similar to the other agencies great thank you okay I'll take the vote Sue yes Lindsay Ryan Yes Kim yes hper yes Salem yes Wilkins yes Hernandez yes motion passes 70 I move that the Board of Education approve a contract with Dr Erica Anderson for infant mental health services for Doorway to Learning child care center and District 65 family centent home visiting program in the amount of $4,950 second that sounds like what it is self-explanatory we'll take the vote Sue yes Lindsay Ryan Yes Kim yes hper yes Salem yes Wilkins yes Hernandez yes motion passes 70 all right next is the resolution authorizing nonrenewal of non- tenure
074teachers other than final year probationary teachers I move that the Board of Education adopt the resolution authorizing non-renewal of non-tenure teachers other than final year probationary teachers second Sue yes Lindsay Ryan Yes Kim yes hper yes Salem yes Wilkins yes Hernandez yes motion passes 70 the next is going to be a resolution authorizing not I'm sorry go ahead number 13 sorry the resolution authorizing notice of non-renewal to non-tenured administrators right I move that the Board of Education adopt the resolution authorizing the notice of non-renewal to non-tenure administrators second Sue yes Lindsay Ryan Yes Kim yes helper yes Salem yes wiins yes Hernandez yes oh I'm sorry we can go back to okay um resolution authorizing notice of dismissal to final year probationary teacher I move that the Board of Education adopt the resolution authorizing notice
075of dismissal to final year probationary teacher second okay Sue yes Lindsay Ryan Yes M yes hper yes Salem yes Wilkins yes Hernandez yes now go to the Head Start Grant decisions 14 we're going to 14 14 not 11 all right I I move that the Board of Education approve the following Head Start Grant decision requests budget update for cost allocation and non-federal share fiscal year 2324 Amendment for carryover request of the reprogram progr application full enrollment initiative under enrollment risk management plan fiscal year 2324 program governance bylaws subrecipient request of $225,000 additional funding for minor reserv Renovations and modifications fiscal year 2425 SE self assessment and subrecipient agreement of the full enrollment initiative Clause second Sue yes Lindsay Ryan Yes Kim yes hper yes Salem yes Wilkins yes Hernandez yes motion passes 70 okay um
076we're to the approval of the updated school calendar I moov that the Board of Education approved the updated 2024 2025 school calendar presented second do we have any questions so this has a few updates for you know those planning for next year including a digitus people's day and a couple other changes so this is the calendar that we presented at the curriculum and policy meeting earlier this this month um there's no change to the start date uh or any of the breaks fall winter spring breaks um these are just a couple changes for the months of September and October um which include the addition of indigenous people's day is a nonattendance day which is October 14th um additionally moving parent teacher conferences up by one week to uh the week of October 7th and lastly
077uh Wednesday September 18th will be our full day school Improvement day instead of in October but otherwise the calendar Remains the Same as what's currently posted on our website so pending board approval we will update the calendar accordingly and communicate with our staff and Community great thank you I'll take the vote Sue yes Lindsay Ryan Yes Kim yes hper yes Salem yes Wilkins yes Hernandez yes motion passes 70 so our next so next one we're moving up on on the agenda is our Fifth Ward update great so first of all just on the Fifth Ward schools specifically I just want to uh recap for the board um there won't be an official update today because we provided an update at the curriculum and policy meeting and we provided uh at the buildings and grounds and
078finance meeting that update just to recap was really to give the board a overview of the design and what our process has been for stakeholder feedback coupled with the bid schedule that is out um and so those that's pretty much collectively what the update is for the fifth War school and so um uh I have a meeting scheduled this week to meet where our building and grounds team along with Kirby to just go through 135 page document so we can finalize some stuff with the city so I think we're on track for the you know the City Zoning um stuff too so it's just really exciting that things are coming together so just wanted to name that for our fifth War school the next update that I want to just give you is really a
079update um in terms of the uh the expansion of our dual language program and so I'll just start with with just reading a memo that I prepared so for decades our community has asked that a neighborhood school be returned to the Fifth Ward in an effort to write a historic wrong we are excited for what the future holds and know that having a walkable neighborhood School in the fifth W will have a positive impact on our students and this community for generations to come in March 2022 the school board approved the District student assignment plan which included the eventual physical closure of Dr Dr Betsy Road's School of Global Studies and the movement of the school and programming to the new fifth War School due to budgetary constraints and sight limitations in January the board
080approved the new school at a reduced size and scope from serving K to8 to only K to five students we recognize that this shift has a significant impact on the Betsy Rose Community further we are extremely sensitive to the fact that there is a desire among a number of current families for the the school to remain open and for the district to retain a wall to--all K TOA dual language school we have heard the emotional connection to Betsy Rose and there is nothing easy about potentially closing a Beloved School and yet we must consider our school district overall this requires us to make difficult decisions in order to ensure growth and future success for all students in the years to come given declining student enrollment and the need to permanently improve our Financial Outlook it
081is not pren nor fiscally responsible for the district to operate 19 schools it is our recommendation that the school board proceed with the process for closing Betsy roads no earlier than at the end of the 2025 2026 school year the school will remain open and fully supported until the closure takes effect as requested by the board in January our team our team has developed a timeline and plan that we are bringing forward tonight for consideration additional information has been included in the memo for tonight's meeting next steps for Betsy roads and Middle School dual language expansion our district remains fully committed to expanding dual language programming in District 65 and offering a full Continuum of services from kindergarten through 8th grade beyond the legal requirements for English language Learners at the February board committee meetings
082our team provided a robust presentation on our multilingual Services delivery models and the value of dual language we know that the school board must feel confident that there is a strong plan in place for K8 student transition should the decision be made to close Betsy roads and that there is a successful launch of the Middle School dual language program we remain on track for the planned expansion of dual language programming for sixth grade students at Betsy roads this fall current fifth grade twe families across the district have been invited to apply for the Betsy roads program for the 2425 school year we are excited to expand the program to another d65 6 through 8 grade middle schools in the coming years based on student enrollment and demand as part of our Outreach to Fifth Fifth
083Grade families to gauge interest in our new middle school program it was abundantly clear that they need to understand what the future holds so they can make an informed decision about their future in an effort to be responsive to their needs we are extending the deadline to submit an application for the Middle School dual language program only again let me read that again we are extending the deadline to submit an application for the Middle School dual language program only to April 26 so that twe families can gain additional Clarity and make a decision in the best interest of their child timeline we are committed to being very transparent and providing our rationale on our timeline and decision making a timeline for the public hearing schedule and engagement click for me thank you here's a timeline
084for the public hearing schedule and engagement around the transition plan for the Betsy rad Community for our Betsy rad Community has been developed for consideration and is included on the visual you see on the screen we are confident that we can provide a smooth transition for all students of Betsy roads focus on a high quality educational experience access to dual language programming and a reined sense of community our Outreach and communication will go beyond what is being shared on this slide and will also include community and staff meetings for feedback in collaboratively developing a transition plan as well as coordination with the re with the receiving d65 schools to help ensure community building our recommendation our recommendation is that the school board votes tonight to approve the timeline for the public hearing process please note
085this vote is to commence the formal hearing process for the potential closure of Betsy roads this is not a vote to close the school thank you thank you for that Dr ch all right so we've got uh next it up on our agenda is the I I don't know if we want any discussion regarding the I think we need a motion first yeah you want me to make a motion and then we'll talk okay um I move the the Board of Education approve holding three public hearings in accordance with Section 10-22 do3 of the Illinois school code to discuss the decision to close Bessie Dr Bessie rh's School of Global Studies all to occur on dates as the by the superintendent and board president but prior to June 5th and further direct the superintendent to
086provide the required notices for such public hearings second I I think the um the timeline presented is absolutely fine I really appreciate Dr Turner you and your team's um patience with me as I've asked no less than a thousand questions along the way um and I think one of the things that I'm most excited about going forward is not um the way that some of these changes impact school communities in the moment um but how it impacts our community in the future and what the benefits we'll be getting from this change and a part of that will be um as we go through this timeline as I understand it as we go through the hearing process there's going to be a lot more information starting to come out about the plans and how the closing
087of a school imp atts people and when people will have certain information and um I think that's that's really the only thing that people need to know to understand why things are happening and when they're happening um and we as a board I think understand that we're not asking people to agree with this necessarily but to understand what's happening and why and we have budget challenges and a part of that happens in small places along the way and it also happens as a part of this massive change districtwide so um we're I think I were talking I was like we're at like a a show me Place MH um with this work now that's really big yeah um and really important and I appreciate the detail that your team has put into the work and
088looking at it and um I'm excited to start to hear that story told over and over again about where we're going great yeah I I would just add that I really appreciate your team's responsiveness as we have tried to make sure that these dates are tied to information right that we make sure that we're giving people the information that they need need um to plan in conjunction with these dates and I I think that the challenge of the heartbreaking piece of closing a school is that we lose kind of the why of the broader conversation that we're having in the district um and you know we have a school opening we have dual language expansion to Middle Schools like there's a lot of great things that come um in conjunction with some of these hard
089decisions and so I just want to make sure we don't lose the celebrations of um some really exciting things that are that are ahead of us um but really still trying to caretake folks so that they have the information they need to to plan and make the decisions they need going forward so thank you can I add just one more piece I really appreciate the care you've taken as the interim yeah to be deliberate in this process and now that the job is yours you can be the boss about it um and we can go as slow as we must yes yes I appreciate that I believe that you have led your team in this sense of honor and phisical transparency um holding all of us responsible and accountable and I do think that this
090timeline um has been intentional in trying to gather all the information um and I you know it's going to be a journey yeah it definitely is so look forward it's going to be a journey yes it will yeah I think a lot of momentous decisions were made two years ago and then we had to revise some of those decisions in the face of fiscal realities that were tough um and now we get to the implementation phase and that's really exciting um but complex um and I think your you and your team seem ready for that challenge of implementation um you know the building is out forbid you know we'll we'll have a groundbreaking soon right they're going to clear the grounds and actually start building something there um so we can see that those decisions
091come to fruition and I think that's very exciting um and I think those of us who were here for that process um you know it's it's kind of it's a really lovely moment to feel that that is tangible um and that there will be a fifth word school that that um our community can really see and feel and be in um and that is a piece it's not different from it's of a piece of the whole plan for the whole District right um as I think you said we can't operate who said that we can't operate 19 schools for a district size um and that is a reality that we really do need to Grapple with that hasn't been grappled with until now so thank you for your leadership and I'm glad you're here to
092to continue the work thank you all right again I I Echo all my colleagues thoughts here you know this timeline really allows us to continue to engage with Community right uh and make sure that even the folks who are out there who have doubts uh there's still an opportunity to to voice your concerns um and we'll take that into account um and you know we know there's families out there who again are afraid for their safety particularly brown and black families uh from um from Bessie roads but again there's these opportunities to continue to engage uh and again I I thank your team you're your hardworking team I know you guys put a lot of time uh and thoughtfulness in regards to and then of course dealing with seven of us right uh which is
093a a challengeing of itself uh but again you you you've taken this with in stride and you you've uh capsulated what what the board's desire is in regards to how we engage Community move forward in the implementation phase as Sula shared right engaging community so thank you to you and the team thank you and I just want to add I want to publicly just thank the multilingual team our student registration team uh Kirby Melissa Dr Green uh we put in long hours Sharm um we put in long hours really trying to be thoughtful about the needs of this entire district and our decision making and so when we get to places where it's hard decisions we have to make just do know that we've put we've put some some time in in in the office
094to really try to figure out how to get this right and do what's right for the children in this district and so it it's not easy decisions that that we have to make but our commitment is moving forward make continuing to make sure that we give all of the information so people understand um what all it comes with to help make better informed decisions in terms of what the future holds for uh the families and and their children in this community and so just want to continue to say that and thank thank the board collectively for your support um and helping us to get there just asking a hard question and us working collaboratively together to help to figure out how to do right by the children and the families um in the community that
095is being impacted and so I just want to thank you each of you for that um and for pushing our team to be able to do that so thank you can I just Echo long hours from your team I think I really think that's important to thank them for that yes we as a board do ask a lot of questions I think and you all do a great job of um you know getting us those answers uh my question is just a clarifying question so like our next meet like board meeting will be the first public hearing because I'm sure people will want to come out and speak um and I don't think Brian's here is he but um like our decision to close the school is about the building and so I'm only asking
096that because programming isn't necessarily what's the discussion at these meetings correct like they can that can come up but that's not necessarily the intent of these meetings like these meetings are State mandated anytime you close a physical building right I just want clarification on that that's correct right Melissa is going to come up she's been thank you she's a quasi attorney and she doesn't even know oh careful put in long hours with with our legal team no no Brian briefed me before the meeting on so these public hearings the three public hearings are specifically related to closing the building the programming is separate from that vote so you're just voting to close the building however if you'll notice on this timeline we are going to ask the board to also approve or take action on
097a resolution related to the programming and that was ultimately so that we as a district can come full circle knowing that the board voted on the student assignment plan in 2022 which included the programming for Bessie rhods as well so if it's not going to be K through 8 at the fifth W school as originally approved we want to make sure that the board votes on that alternate plan cool um but yes these are three public hearings just for the closing of the actual school thank you question you sound like an attorney that's great thank you I did my job and listen probably we should use the word closing of the building right it's closing of the building theal build of the pH building the school still needs to be determined what is happening the
098building is what we're voting on yeah I think it's important to keep that clarification I'm sure we'll get plenty of public comments either way which is good that's what the hearing is for but cool thank you all right the vote let's vote take the vote okay Sue yes Lindsey Ryan Yes Kim yes hper yes Salem yes Wilkins yes Hernandez yes motion passes 70 right uh with no further business I you're in this meeting at 8:41 e