001The time is now 7 o'clock and we'll call the meeting back to order. Jackie, could you do the roll call? >> Here >> and we'll now stand for the pledge. I pledge algiance 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. >> All right. And then we'll be moving into public comment. We've got a couple tonight. First speaker that we'll go with is Kumaya Calvin to talk about student council trip. Um, is it possible for us to talk together? >> You can both come out together to support each others. How about that? >> So, we've gota Calvin and Ivana Ortiz coming to speak on student council trip. >> Sorry. >> Just make sure you speak into
002the microphone. Okay. >> You look nice, by the way. >> Thanks. >> Oh, sorry. >> Okay. Hello. Um, as already stated, my name is Kumay and this is Ivana. And we are two executive members of Decal High School's student council. And so today we want to talk about something that we do annually, which is our Chicago field trip that we do mid December. This year it's a little earlier, but it's usually November, December, just like winter. Yeah. Um, and so we're just kind of here to talk about like why we do it, the importance of it, and just why we enjoy it as just two students. Um, so first thing I want to talk about is the team bonding aspect of it. With student council, you don't really, it's not like a sport where you're
003like traveling or you have practice after school. You really only have your meetings where you can interact with other people of student council. And it's not usually, you know, fun. I guess it's not like you're not talking and getting to know each other. And so I think a really big reason why we do that so that we have time where it's not necessarily planning time or we're decorating the school. It's just sometime where we can have fun, we can be with each other and we can learn more about each other. And I would say from personal experience that having those time with my fellow student council members makes me work better with them because I know them personally. It's much easier for us to communicate, especially outside of student council time and just enjoy being
004with them. And I feel that that makes us better as a council because we are able to bounce ideas off of each other and just really be more connected as a whole rather than just individual people. >> Um, I wanted to add that our adviserss do a really good job in um mixing us exec members so we bond from we all have very different personalities. um and they do a really great job. So, we all um get along and we all connect. Um I personally, it was my first year being an exec member last year and I had a really wonderful time in Chicago. I um connected with my adviserss in a very very personal way and I a lot of my members, they're kind of like my my family now at at school. So,
005yeah. Um, and one more thing I would like to add is that us not only being um, fellow members of student council, but us being friends makes us want to do more. Like I don't dread going to student council events. I don't dread going to meetings because I know that although yes, it will be like planning and it'll be like actual like we have to get things done. It's not just fun fun fun. I know that those people I'm going to be there with I'm comfortable with. like I don't ever feel ashamed to give my ideas or I don't feel scared to talk because I know that these are people who respect me and I respect them and that we can enjoy our time together. >> Oh yes, one more thing. Um we have wonderful
006support from our three principles, Dr. Larson, Mr. Davis, and Miss Jennings. Um I think Dr. Larson can talk about just the fact that just being in student council and like having those connections. We've grown as just leaders in general. Um we have again we do have amazing support from all three of them. They continuously um make comments on who we are and the great job that the student council does and all that we do for the school. >> Yeah. I think that's it for us. >> Thank you. [Applause] Katie Davis in regards to Early Learning Development Center. >> Good evening. I am Katie Davis. I'm a teacher at the Early Learning and Development Center and I'm here tonight on behalf of our students, families, staff, and school as a whole. As you know, we have
007been sharing information about the importance of early childhood education during previous board meetings. We would like the board to demonstrate that they understand the importance of early childhood education. A great way to demonstrate this understanding is to support us in advocating for a new early learning and development center and helping educate our community. As the elected officials of the board of education, it's your duty to inform the community and explain why we are taking action to build an early childhood center to serve serve our students and families. The state of Illinois recognizes the need and lack of early learning opportunities and therefore does not require referendums to build early childhood centers if it is determined that it will increase prek classroom space. If a new early learning and development center were to go to a
008referendum and we as a district are saying it is important but it doesn't pass, we are stuck and we can't move forward to serve the growing needs of our community. So our question to the board is what are the next steps in advocating for the early learning and development center and our biddy barbs? What additional information would you like us to share with you regarding our programs at the early learning and development center or early childhood education? Thank you. And next we have Adrien Fowl also in regards to ELC. >> Good evening everyone. I'm Adrienne Fowl, teacher at ELDC. Um I went back to school to get um my degree for school of psychology which I feel is a major need for our ELDC students. So, I stand before you today to speak on behalf
009of ELDC, a school that has been overlooked for far too long. While other schools in our district have gyms, libraries, and modern facilities, ELC has no gym, no library, and only four toilets for 140 students, 3 to 5 years old, waiting in line because we only have four toilets for them to use. We don't have a conference room where parents and staff can meet privately to support our students. This isn't just about missing resources. It's about what our students and families are being told every day, that they matter less. Equity doesn't mean giving every school the same. It means giving every school what it needs to thrive. ELC deserves the same opportunities, the same dignity, and the same investment as every other school in this district. It's time to do better. Our students are watching
010and they deserve to see that they are valued. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Lisa Gorchals also in regards to ELC. >> No. Um my name is Lisa Gorchals and I am a proud retired special education teacher and administrator from D428. The last seven of my 32 years in decalb schools was as the administrator of ELC. We started our journey under one roof in the 20134 school year. Prior to that, the classrooms were scattered across various elementary schools and mobiles. When we came together, it made an immense difference in our ability to meet the needs of students, families, and staff. an ability to collaborate, job shadow, problem solve, plan, and celebrate our students and families together. While it may seem inconsequential to be in one physical place for those who have not been part of
011this team of gifted professionals, I am here to testify how important this move was for morale, cohesiveness, collaboration of instruction, and most importantly increasing the learning of our D428 youngest learners, our biddy barbs. This physical space was retrofitted and made to work. We are grateful for that. However, oh, I lost it. Um, however, once we began living in that space, the wing of HMS, it was clear how many modific modifications we would continue to have to create to make this physical space work. We did it and the remarkable ELDC staff and buildings and ground staff continues to make it work. There is an opportunity to convey how important early education means to D428 and that opportunity would be to build create a physical building that is designed for 3 to 5year-old learners. That would be
012an epic move on the part of the school board and communicate just how important and valued our youngest learners are, our biddy barbs. >> Thank you, Lisa. >> Thank you. And our final speaker, Brandt Boyer, in regards to class sizes in conjunction with ELDC. >> Thank you, Mr. Boyer. >> Good evening, everyone. I'm Brandt Berrell, principal at Clinton Rosette Middle School. And um we'll just start off. Uh dear members of school board, I'm here tonight to express my deepest gratitude for your decision to support the construction of Mitchell Elementary. Michel uh for years I've had the privilege of serving on the district class size task force and in this decision to build Mitchell Elementary has been a massive step forward for our district with the lowering of our elementary class sizes. These lower class sizes
013will directly impact the teaching and learning our students and staff so well deserve. The next steps I'm here to talk about is the support of lowering our middle school class sizes. Being a middle school principal, finding a muchneeded new home for ELDC. nicely said. Um will in turn allow 10 classrooms at Huntley Middle School to be repurposed. A change that is critical for our middle school students and our class sizes at the middle school. For the past six years, Clinton Rosette Middle School has been at maximum capacity. We've had to overflow our sixth grade students to HMS for five consecutive years now. And as of today, running my last numbers, our seventh and eighth grades have singledigit spaces remaining before they too hit capacity and will need to be overflowed at HMS. Our current class
014average size is between 33 and 35 students per classroom. Our current classroom capacity at the middle school level per our district class size task force is 35 students with potential of 10 available classrooms at HMS. It would be a gamecher for our middle schools. It would allow us to lower these class- size caps, which would benefit our students learning environment, their well-being, and overall educational experience. This decision puts the best interest of our students and our staff at the forefront. Thank you again for your vision and your commitment to our students and staff. Your support is making and will continue to make a tangible difference in our schools. Thank you guys and have a great evening. >> Thank you. Right. Good job. And now moving into board correspondence. Does anyone have any correspondence for the
015board? >> Yes, Mark. Ju just briefly um enjoyed uh attending first day of school at Jefferson last week. It was a great time working with Melanie and her staff and seeing all the smiles on kids' faces. I still remember my first day of going back to school. I was Mr. Frown. Kids were all smile. So it was great to see. So great staff over there. That's it. >> Steve, >> I was going to say I got to visit um Lincoln Elementary, which had a a wonderful start to the year. Um and the Huntley Middle School, and I would have gone over to the LDC, but I got talking and I didn't stop so that I couldn't go over there. But uh yeah, everything went really great and um I really loved the layout of Mitchell.
016Um I think that was a really great design building. So when we hopefully can get into maybe new buildings, I think that whoever worked to design that would be a good choice. >> And so I got to stop into five schools on the first day of school last week. So, it's very fun being the 27year-old with no kids. You know, I can kind of just do what I want for the day when I'm off. But got to stop into the high school. I got to stop into Huntley, Founders, Tyler, and Lincoln within the first day. Um, really exciting time. And just got to see some of our new administrators really in swing. So, over at the staff at Founders for their first day did an amazing job. Definitely new administrators. I don't think they knew
017who I was. So, you know, I got to go on car duty and hand out flyers to every parent that was coming through, which was a lot of fun. So, that was great. And then yesterday, I got to pop into ELC for their first day, which was just truly I mean, I will say as a board member in regards to their comments, like they need that space. The amount of students that we have coming in there right now, it's it's really not something that we can afford to wait on is what I would say. Now, I'm going to get into, you know, nitty-gritty details with you guys more quickly just on kind of what processes could look like real quick. So, there's a couple different options. As they mentioned, there's a referendum option, there's a
018no referendum option. So, with referendums, state of Illinois has two ways that you can do a referendum. There are binding referendums and there are non-binding referendums. The issue with school buildings is those historically by state law have always been binding referendums. Now that the state of Illinois passed this new law where if you are adding K or preK space, you don't need a referendum. No one in the state has tried to do a referendum when it involves those two things since that law has passed. So at the current moment, nobody in the state knows whether that makes it a binding or a non-binding referendum. Legal council's preliminary idea was that there was not a way to do it non-binding. So I guess just to make it very clear until we have a definitive answer in
019a different direction, we're operating under if we go referendum route, it is binding, which means that whatever the voters say, we are tied to whether it's yes or no. So that's one option. As we mentioned before, the state of Illinois has passed a law since I believe it was that if you are adding K space or preK space, you do not have to go to a referendum. So, just know those are kind of the two options before us. Now, I do want to make it very clear from my position as the president setting the agenda. I fully intend to push for us to make a decision on ELDC within this next year because I think it is an immediate need that our district has. So I guess I kind of just want to set that
020expectation with all of you that that is something that I and I know Dr. Garcia Sanchez plan to advocate for. So that's kind of my quick two cents on that. Does anyone else have any other correspondence for the board? I just wanted to add, I don't want to like take away from what you just said, but I visited Tyler on the first day. I was really excited um to meet Larry Smith, I think it is, and Candace Coleman. Um and to see the ways that they were engaging with the students. I got really really excited. Um and I got to talk with them a little bit, Larry, a little bit in the hallway afterwards and and meet a number of the assistants um who were either new to the school or had been there just
021a little bit. Um and it was just really exciting to get to see the people working there. Anyone else have anything? All right, hearing nothing else, there is no student board correspondence that we got for Maria. So, we can move into the consent agenda. Before we go into the consent agenda, are there any items that anyone has any questions on before we vote on it? >> There is one. >> The uh item J I would like to vote on separately. Claire. >> All right. Okay. So, item J will be removed and put on its own side. Anything else? All right. Hearing nothing else, it is recommended the board of education approve the consent agenda items 5B through 5N with the exclusion of J 4 8525 board meeting minutes, personnel action items, payroll for July, purchase
022order requisitions, accounts payable for August, financial reports service agreement, special education consultant, stepping stones group service agreement by lingual school psychologist, Sunb Belt staffing service agreement, registered nurse Mena Academy professional service agreement, Dakota High Dean Employment Contract and Clint Rosat Middle School Dean Employment Contract as presented and or amended. Do I have a motion? >> So move. >> Jackie. Roll call. >> Steve Buyers. >> Yes. >> Jose, >> yes. >> Christopher Boyce, >> yes. >> Mark Shervat, >> yes. >> Anthony Bum, >> yes. >> Kristen Dailyaly, >> yes. >> All right. And then item J. It is recommended the board of education approve the attached employment contract for the 2526 school year. Do I have a motion? >> So move. >> Second. >> Jackie. Roll call. >> Mr. Bailey, >> yes. >> Steve Buyers, >>
023yes. >> Was it Jquiz? >> Yes. >> Christopher Boyce? >> Yes. >> Mark, >> abstain. >> Yes. >> All right. And then moving on. Um, we did have presentations for summer project update. Director of facilities Tammy Carson wasn't able to be with us this evening. So, we're going to table that for the next board meeting, which takes us into old business. First one is item A, DHS girls volleyball tournament, Champagne Central High School. This is an action item. It is recommended the board of education approves overnight travel for the varsity girls volleyball team on September 26th. Do I have a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Jackie, the roll call. >> Steve Buyers, >> yes. >> Jose, yes. >> Christopher, boys, >> yes. >> Mark, yes. >> Bino, >> yes. >> Bailey, >> yes.
024>> Item B, girls varsity wrestling tournament. Dan Gable. Donnie Brooks. It is recommended the board of education approve the table of the DHS girls varsity wrestling team to attend the Dan Gable Donnie Brook wrestling tournament from December 3rd through December 5th. Do I have a motion? So >> move second. >> Jackie, roll call. >> Was it Jesus? >> Yes. >> Christopher Boyce, >> yes. >> Mar, yes. >> Ant, >> yes. >> Chris Bailey, >> yes. >> Z Buyers, >> yes. >> Item C. It is recommended the board of education approve the boys varsity wrestling team to attend the Dan Gable Donnie Brook wrestling tournament from December 4th through the 6th. Do I have a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Okay. Roll call. >> Christopher Boy. >> Yes. >> Mark Shervat. >> Yes. >>
025And yes. >> Bailey. >> Yes. Steve Buyers. >> Yes. >> Jose. >> Yes. >> Item D. Girls Varsity Wrestling Tournament Wonder Women. It is recommended the board of education approve the girls varsity wrestling team's attendance at the wonder women wrestling tournament from December 28th to the 30th. Do I have a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Jackie, roll call. >> Arvette, >> yes. >> And Bham, >> yes. >> Kristen Bailey, >> yes. >> Steve Buyers, >> yes. Jud, >> yes. >> Christopher Boyce, >> yes. Item E, boys varsity wrestling cheese head tournament. Is recommended the board of education approve the boys varsity wrestling team to attend the cheese head wrestling tournament from January 8th through the 10th in 2026. Do I have a motion? Second, >> Jackie. Roll call. >> Yes. >> Bailey, >>
026yes. >> Steve Buyers, >> yes. >> Christopher Boyce, >> yes. >> Item F, overnight DHS boys varsity wrestling witch latch tournament. It is recommend the board of education approve the boys varsity wrestling team to stay overnight for the tournament Hinsdale, Illinois on December 19th. Do I have a motion? >> So move. >> Second. >> Jackie, roll call. >> Kristen Bailey, >> yes. Z Buyers, >> yes. >> Jose, >> yes. >> Christopher Boy, >> yes. >> Mark Shvat, >> yes. >> Dante Bum, >> yes. >> Item G, DHS boys varsity golf tournament, Metamora golf invite is recommended the board of education approved the boys varsity golf team's overnight attendance at the golf invite in Metamora, Illinois. Do I have a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Steve, >> yes. >> Jose, yes.
027>> Christopher Boyce, >> yes. >> Mark Sherat, >> yes. >> Dante Vinyl, >> yes. >> Bailey, >> yes. Item H, behavior solutions, a practical roadmap for behavior success in all tiers. As recommended, the board of education approve the out of state travel request for two educators and three administrators to attend the behavior solutions conference from September 14th through the 16th. Do I have a motion? >> So move. >> Second. >> Jackie, roll call, please. >> Steve, >> yes. >> Jose, >> yes. >> Christopher Boyce, >> yes. >> Mark, >> yes. >> B, >> yes. >> And sorry, Chris. >> All right, moving into new business. DHS student council retreat overnight request. This is information presented by Dr. Donna Larson and members of student council. >> Good evening everyone. As you heard from the ladies earlier
028today, uh they came to speak before you. Um student voice, we always want to enhance that. So they wanted to come and present that to you tonight. So they spoke to it. Do you have any questions for me? Sorry that they went earlier. Do you have um question and a request? >> Sure. >> Um so everybody's taking a train. >> So what they do is they take the mini buses to the train station. They get on the train. They go take the train to have that experience. They spend the night and then they come back on the train and then take the mini buses back. >> Perfect. Those kind of roll right into my request. >> Rolls right into it. Um >> the bar buses, uh I understand that at least in the past, uh
029>> if we use it, we don't really kind of report it in the requests for transportation, >> but the gas and maintenance on those vehicles does cost the district money. >> Correct. Yeah. Correct. >> By no means am I suggesting that we shouldn't be doing this because the cost is there, but just as documented in there for transparency, you say for lack of better anything else, saying look at the money we're saving by not using first student. So >> absolutely >> if in when this comes to action if that could be included that would be awesome. >> Yep, we could do that. Um we definitely have a process and a protocol. Jackie had created that piece to so that we have tabs on everything of when they're leaving and what they're doing with the maintenance
030and things like that too. So we can include that though in the future for requests. >> Thank you. >> No problem. >> Hearing nothing else. Thank you Dr. Larson. >> No problem. >> We'll move on to item B. >> Oh. Oh, consensus to bring this back. >> Yes. Yes. >> Thank you. All right. Moving on to item B. DHS Chamber choir magicals out of state travel request for August 22nd. This one is info and action because obviously that's this week. So, we need to have a decision. >> Also presented by Dr. Donna Larson. >> Thank you. So, the reason for the information and action, this is a company that we used in the past. However, with all the all of our students do so many different things, so we try to wait to see what
031they'll be involved in and when we can work with this company. This company books up very fast. Um, so this was the only date available that also work with our students that are participating in band. Um, so we don't have football this Friday, so we were able to get this on the books. It is out of state. Um, and it will be covered by the music boosters. Um, we'll cover the student fees. Um, and I think it's $40. Any questions? >> All right. >> Hearing no questions. Is recommended the board of education approve the request for out of state travel for the DHS chamber choir magical to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin on August 22nd. Do I have a motion? >> So move. >> Second. >> Jackie. Roll call. >> Jose, >> yes. >> Christopher Boyce, >>
032yes. >> Mark, >> yes. >> Bye. >> Yes. Z. >> Yes. >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. Moving on to item C. Queso 2025 social and emotional learning SEAL exchange presented by Kyle Gertis. >> Good evening. Um I'm excited to be here in front of you tonight to talk about an opportunity that uh Dr. Becker um our assistant director of the student and family services department as well as Sarah Bates our coordinator for social emotional learning um will have this year as they were selected to present at the castle um what they call the exchange. Um this is the third year now that um Lisa and Sarah have been selected to present at that conference um to display the work of the Calore 28. A couple years ago they were down in Atlanta.
033uh last year I had the pleasure of being with them along with uh our honorary department member Mr. Bale over here while they presented on our work around SEAL and AI implementation in our district. Um not surprising to me that they were asked to come back again and do a couple of poster presentations. In addition to that they were also invited to be a part of the uh fellows um fellowship group which is basically an opportunity for our leaders. >> Tell us what castle is. It's the collaborative >> importance of book castle is it's important that they know that. >> Sure. It's a collaborative for academic, social, and emotional learning. Um so it's the national >> it's the leader in national implementation for um schools in the country. Um and it's grown year after year.
034Um so in addition to attending the conference, they will also have the opportunity to represent D428. Um I kind of broke down the fin fiscal impact. Um in addition to Dr. Becker and um Sarah Bates. We would also like to bring Surrey Williams, our restorative dean at Founders, Julie Stubblefield, our MTSSB facilitator, and April Gardner, our cultural coach. Um all of those individuals support at the district level implementation of SEAL across all tiers, including restorative practices. Um and Dr. Becker is here today to um share or answer any questions that you have either about what they're going to present or the exchange in general. One last note, it's being paid for out of a stronger connections grant um um funding. Any questions? >> Hearing no questions. Do I have >> Well, I I just want
035to say something. I know I Kyle's being very kind and not really boasting, but um the significance of this conference is tremendous because it is not just a national association that handles SEAL for all schools across the district from elementary through higher education and in certain spaces and places even corporate America and they have a vested interest in Washington DC. the fact that we have been invited and asked that we have been invited previously to be a a part of it then asked to present and then now returning to uh present says a lot about the work that's being done in decal around seal. So I am very proud of the fact that you have been honored with being invited to present. So thank you very much for that. >> Thank you. All right, hearing
036no questions. Do we have consensus to bring this back? >> Yes. >> All right. Thank you guys. Moving on to item D. This one is info and action staffing request instructional assistance 3 FTEES. This is presented by Kyle as well. >> Yep. Uh little different request. So, as we start the school year and we have registration and enrollment kind of ongoing, um there's always a little bit of fluidity fluidity in understanding how much support we're going to need for students um that might be new to the district or um you know, recently qualified um for some supports that we didn't have projected at the end of last school year. Um so, that's the reason for the 3.0 increase in instructional assistance. Um and looking at kind of our needs at the secondary level, primarily the
037high school as well as one of our middle schools, um there is a need for additional instructional assistance to support students that have um that in their individualized education plans. Um and so I broke down kind of the overall salary and benefits. The maximum cost of that would be $164,1343 if um all benefits are maximized. and it's info action just with the urgency to get support um to the school. >> Any questions? >> Kyler, are the is the the need slash requirement for these pair of professionals or assistants um already written into IEPs that we are now short on? We're we're we're not giving them the what we're contractually required to give them. >> So that's an interesting question. So when you think about a student who moves into the district, as soon as they
038enroll, we are then given their IEP. So at that point in time, we have to assess the need of what that is. Do we have enough resources in district or do we need to go obtain more resources to meet whatever that need is? Um and so that's really the the difference in these this request. It's needs that we couldn't project at the end of last year based on new enrollment. So the challenge for our building administrators is to in that meantime, how do we provide that support and stretch our resources until we can get things hired? Um so it's problem solving at the building level. Um but we don't um we wouldn't go significant with we wouldn't go periods of time without providing that support. We'd have to come up with creative ways to do
039it until we could actually hire additional people. >> How many Sorry, >> go ahead Mark. How many additional students will this cover? >> So, the part of the reason that we're we're moving some assistance over that need to support one-on-one needs. So, they would have one student um that they would support throughout the day. Um what that does though is it pulls from other areas such as a program assistant that might go into multiple classes across the day and support a wide range of students. So, it's kind of hard to give an exact answer, but I can tell you the need for more one-on-one support is what the ripple effect is to add these additional FD So, and I it's been a while, so I forgot the actual term, but when there the the IEP
040requires whatever support and we don't provide it, there's a term for that. >> Yeah. Not being compliance. >> Yep. >> Okay. Is are are we at a point to where without Let me rephrase that. Are we at a point to where we're not in compliance right now with any of these even if we move people around? I understand move people around, but >> Yep. Yeah. So, >> so how drastic is this? >> It's a it's a drastic need and if we don't add these positions and we will continue to run the risk of being out of compliance. >> We have some folks in the audience that >> I'm watching her go like this. >> Okay. Thank you. Yep. >> Any other questions? As this is info action is recommended the board of education approve the
041addition of three instructional assistant FTEEs. Do I have a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Jackie. Roll call please. >> Christopher Boys. >> Yes. >> Mark. >> Yes. >> Vinham. >> Yes. >> Bailey. >> Yes. >> Steve. >> Yes. >> Great. Thank you Kyle. Moving on to item E. DCTA program course approved salary schedule credit/PRC presented to us by director of human resources Dietra Salis. Sorry for the acronym PRC there. I copied it from a previous agenda item, but that's the professional relations committee which is part of the DCTA contract. This is where um uh members of DCTA, not members of but uh positions that fall under DCTA um bring forth requests for programs or individual courses to complete um new license lure and or degrees in order to move on the salary schedule.
042So we meet at different times throughout the year. We review the uh requests that have come forward. We compare them to the admissions or the coursework that they're doing for each university and then we bring forward to you to approve those courses. These individuals then uh take the courses, they get transcripts, they're turned into us every year by September 5th. We review additional credits andor degrees that they've earned and then they move on the salary schedule. Any questions I can answer for you, >> Dra? Not necessarily a question, but it >> turn your mic. >> It is. >> Oh, okay. I saw the other one blinking. Sorry. >> Looking at the at the list of of requests and courses, we have people putting in requests for 14, at least one for 14 and one for
04312. Mhm. >> It kind of looks to me like they throw out throw spaghetti at the wall, see which ones are going to stick, and then they'll take those classes, and we're approving way more than we have to. Is there a way that they could be looked at and say, "Okay, seriously, which classes are you planning on taking over the next year?" rather than, you know, hey, what what are you what are you kind of thinking about maybe possibly taking, you know, if you get around to it, you know, because that there's a I don't know too many teachers that have the time to do 14 classes over the next year. >> So, we actually do that and we did have this conversation at our last PRC meeting. So, what happens is they don't have
044a specified period of time in which they have to take this coursework. So they put uh they submit them to get approval to work towards completing them. Um some individuals do have enough time to do it. Um some don't or they spread it out over a period of time. There are courses that we do reject um because they are not gerine to their position and or not within within the the world of education right now. For instance, during um COVID, there were a lot of courses being offered about how to pe how to teach during a pandemic. Well, of course, if we see those come through now, we're not accepting them because we are of the firm belief there will be no more pandemics. Um but we do critically look at the coursework that does
045come through. Um the contract language is not written that there is a limit to the number that they can submit and or complete. Um, so that would be a conversation for probably further contract negotiations, but it is something that we are cognizant of and something we did have a conversation about. >> Thank you. >> And the other thing I want to add is sometimes you'll see that number of courses because an individual might not have been accepted to a program yet and they are a student at large. So later on we may see that they've been admitted to program X, but they already started uh doing course work towards that knowing that they had to get prerexs out of the way and or um the the program was full and they knew that potentially next
046year they might get admitted or something of that effect. >> So I have a question as a followup. The year column then is that not the term within which they have to complete that coursework? So not required to complete it because they are at the liberty of the college and university because they sometimes cancel courses because they didn't have enough um enrollment or no one to teach it or different things of that nature. So we do get updates from the colleges or universities that we changed the course number or we didn't offer this course in this year and it's being deferred to next year or next semester. So we are aware of that and we do pay attention to that. And just to add some context, just to make sure that I'm understanding this correct,
047this is just the district essentially and the board agreeing, hey, yes, we do believe these credits should count towards you advancing on the scale. Correct. Absolutely. So, I mean, this isn't >> I mean long term if they take all these 14 classes, it becomes a impact. Yes. >> But I mean, it's an impact if our educators are more talented, more informed, and more educated to teach our students. We're not losing money saying, "Yep, here's money for 14 courses." And they take five. This is just saying, "Yep, we'll move you up the salary schedule if you take these courses." So, I guess I don't see much harm and saying, "Yep, if you take these classes, works for us." So, that's just for context what this is saying. >> I'm kind of curious. Idaho State University listed
048almost half the courses on all the pages. What is so special about Idaho State University? I see. is only listed once or twice. >> I think we talked about that in an earlier board meeting, right? >> We have, but um >> really because it's um it's online, it's virtual, so individuals don't have to get to class, they don't have to be there at a certain time, so it doesn't impact their um daily job. Um and the coursework seems to be very popular amongst our DCTA members. I don't know, perhaps someone here has taken courses at Idaho and could speak to that, but that's the feedback I've received >> because it is convenient for them as educators. >> Okay. Well, does anyone else have any other questions? >> It it's not marked, but it is for
049information. So, sorry, missed my eye. >> So, hearing no other questions, do we have consensus to bring this back? >> Yes. >> All right. Thank you guys. And that brings us into the superintendence report. >> Now we're going to go. Good evening everyone. Um, first and foremost, I what I want to do is thank everyone from our custodians and ground and maintenance to our food service support staff, our teachers, our assistants, our school leaders, our SRO's, our security, I mean like everybody, every singlebody uh for a fantastic first day of school. Yeah, I know that there were some transition snafuss uh transportation snafuss. Um, we're still working on those and I apologize before and I apologize now again. Um, but we are diligently working on making sure that everybody gets picked up and dropped off
050where they were supposed to. No one has been anywhere except where they needed to be. And I'm very happy to to hear that. And so I'm really excited uh for this new school year and all the great things that are happening. again. You know, Chris and I were a couple of our schools together and saw the wonderful things that were happening and we know that that's what it's going to be like. Today I was at Malta and at Courtland and continue to see some fantastic things. So, instruction is happening and I really appreciate for everybody is doing in in their classrooms and even out and about everywhere else to make sure kids feel welcome even when their parents are crying. So, thank you for that. Um, so, uh, now I'd like to share something. Um,
051I'm going to read it out loud. It just makes it easier. Dear Dalb CUSD428 school board members and DALB community, after thoughtful reflection, I have decided not to seek a renewal of my contract as superintendent of DALB CUSD 428. This was not an easy decision as as it has been a profound honor to serve the district and community over the past several years. Together we have achieved meaningful milestones that we will have a last that will have a lasting impact on students and families through strong strategic planning and integration throughout the district. Graduation rates have steadily improved since 2021. Academic outcomes are rising thanks to the continued focus on data and help in the um and help target resources where they are most needed and support for multilingual learners and students social emotional well-being is
052more robust than ever. The opening of the Dr. Leroy A. Mitchell Elementary School and the Beyond One Bar Transition Center. And if I can help it before I leave, the ELDC along with refining school boundaries to ensure every student has access to the academic resources they deserve and are entitled to has helped position the district for long-term growth and success. Thank you. None of this could have been accomplished without the dedication of our educators, staff, families, and community partners. I am especially proud of how we've centered student voice and belonging and prioritized equity and access across all schools. I remain committed to the work that lies ahead through the end of my contract on June 30th, 2026 and to a smooth and productive transition in the months ahead as the district begins its search for
053a new superintendent. Thank you for your trust, collaboration, and shared belief in the boundless potential of our students. Thank you. The board of education accepts Dr. Garcia Sanchez's notification that she is not seeking an employment contract beyond her current contract, which expires on June 30th of 2026. We thank her for her dedicated service to our district students and our families. The board will immediately begin taking steps to select the district's next superintendent and to ensure a continuity of operations during this transition. As stated, Dr. Garcia Sanchez will continue her responsibilities to lead the district until the end of her contract on June 30th, 2026. We can provide more detailed updates on the process during our September board of education meetings. Thank you. With that, do I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >>
054Second. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. >> And the board is adjourned. >> Thank you for coming everyone.