001[music] Ready? >> Okay. [clears throat] >> Got it on. Ready to go. >> Yep. >> Okay. >> Melissa, you ready? Okay. Here we go. Um, little bit little bit different format tonight. We're going to start with a public hearing. Uh public hearing for DPS-61 FY amended budget. Uh I'll call the public hearing to order and note for the board and public that this hearing is to give an opportunity to the public and board members to present any written or oral testimony andor comments on the subject of Decar Public School District 61 FY26 amended budget. A [snorts] form of this budget was presented during the January 13, 2026 board of education meeting. A form of this budget was prepared and made conven conveniently available to the public for inspection for the last 30 days prior to
002tonight's action by the business office and the board secretary. Miss Bradford, have we received any written comments? >> We have not. >> Thank you. Do we have anyone signed in wishing to speak on this subject tonight? Okay, seeing no one. Is there anyone present tonight who did not get signed in who wishes to speak on this amended budget item? Okay. Thank you. I'd like to now call Dr. Mike Curry, chief operational officer, to the podium to present any and all updates to the FY26 budget. Thank you. Hopefully, this will be shorter than that awkward silence as we waited back here a second ago. So, uh I want you to note it that it's an internally amended budget. I actually asked uh Isby, we got together and they rejected the original so that we didn't have
003to do an amended. So they just sent it back to me is what they did. And so we made the following changes. So it's internally for us it's amended different than what I showed you the first time, but when it goes to Isby it will be our original. So, a couple of the changes I remember mentioning that miscoded employees um they were they were miscoded as administrative personnel and they should have been as instructional support slipped through the system, but that threw our 5% waiver out of whack. That's what we caught. While we were making those changes, we we just dove in and did a few other changes since the book was open. So, we took a few placeholders out. about $170,000 of potential expenditures in professional and technical services was pulled out and about
00420,000 of supplies in the uh superintendent's DAC. Um but then we during the time um from the budget passing to today, the board approved Dr. Clark and Mr. Thally's Raptor Alert proactive purchase of 63,000. So we had a chance to build that in. So, we built that in the new maintenance step van about $73,000. We built in 85 to give us a little bit of a cushion. Um, but again, wasn't in the original budget. The books open. We went ahead and added it. Uh, we also revised uh field trips. We upped the field trip um number by 29,654. And then in all this interim time, the actual EBF adjusted numbers came out. So instead of having um the estimates, we have the originals. So just a real quick look at the difference. Uh it's a
005net it's a net savings overall. Um it's a net savings um in the ED fund, but we know operations went up by the step van and we know transportation went up by the cost of the uh field trips that we added. That's all I got. It was quick. >> Okay, any questions? >> Quick question. Uh, can you explain to the public and us how uh that field trip fund is accessed by educators or administrators or whoever? >> So, the principles generally principles and as I understand it, transportation um handles Kimmy and Le Tammy do a great job handling that. But there is a pot of money um for each of the buildings to tap into. They use their activity for some of it, but we decided we would add that that extra money to make
006it uh possible for more trips. >> So, if MAPS wanted to take their kindergarteners to Scoville Zoo, they would check through the administrator and then apply. >> Correct. They they would see what it could be that it could be anything from a kindergarten activity account or it could be a transportation account. Okay. Or it could be a lot of our transportation is reimbursed by uh a local u program as well. >> Okay. Thank you. Yep. And then uh if I could uh Mr. Reynolds asked a couple questions about the red lines. They're the same red lines we had before. We plan to spend capital projects, so we knew we were spending reserves. Same with healthife safety. Transportation. We frontf funded for two years knowing we're going to have to ride this wave of short funding.
007And then the tort, that's the [music] one that's the one that we're going to have to really keep an eye on over the next two years. >> All right. Thank you. Thank you. >> Any board board members have any further comments? Okay. Having given an opportunity to public participation, oral and written, I declare this public hearing closed. Now we'll move on to tonight's agenda. Board of Education has been in closed executive session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body and collective negotiating matters between the board and representatives of its employees. No action was taken during closed executive session. Now, I ask everyone to join me for the pledge. >> Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for
008which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> We have recommendation for tonight's agenda. >> Yes, we do. I recommend the board approve tonight's February 24, 2026 open session board meeting agenda as presented. >> Got a motion. So move. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Those opposed. The motion's carried. Okay, we'll move on to our district highlights. Maria. >> Hello. Good evening, board president, Mr. Clevener, members of the board, Dr. Clark, and Miss Bradford. Our district highlight this evening proudly recognizes the exceptional middle school boys basketball team from Steven Decar Middle School under the leadership of head coach Mr. Chuck Jones along with assistant coach Mark Thomas. The running reds delivered a truly remarkable season finishing with an extraordinary 21
009and3 record. This team demonstrated talent, discipline, teamwork, and perseverance every time they stepped on the court. Coach Jones and his players brought tremendous pride to Steven Decar by capturing the regional championship in commanding fashion, defeating Mount Zion 62-34. While their season concluded with a hard-fought sectional battle against Quincy, falling just short with a 42 and 37 finish, their determination, resilience, and competitive spirit were evident throughout the game and the entire season. We would like to offer special recognition to eighth grade student Terrell Laroo, who was honored with a prestigious sportsmanship award during both the regional and sectional championship games. This award is voted on by coaches, athletic directors, and administrators from all participating schools and is a powerful testament to to Terrell's character, leadership, and integrity. All qualities that reflect his team, his coaches, and
010Steven Decar Middle School. Tonight we proudly celebrate Coach Jones, assistant coach Thomas Terrell, and every member of the Steven Decar Middle School boys basketball team [music] for an outstanding season, their regional championship title, and for representing our district with excellence and class pride. Although the coaches and team are unable to attend this evening, their achievements deserve to be celebrated. Everyone, please join me in congratulating the running reds on a tremendous season in your [applause] hand. >> Good job. >> Thank you. And now our school spotlight for this evening is the Bomb Bears. And tonight presenting for the Bomb Bears is Principal Sergio Raina. All right. Good evening, members of the board, Dr. Clark, Miss Bradford. Thank you for having us here tonight. Uh, you know, I'm Sergey Rhina, principal at Bomb, and I have two
011people here that are going to present with me. I'm going to allow them to present themselves. >> My name is Katherine Rogers, and I'm the assistant principal at Bomb Elementary. I'm Britney Williams Ader and I'm the music teacher at Bomb. [snorts] >> All right, we'll go ahead and get started. Uh, first of all, go Bomb Bears. Uh, >> okay. So, first slide bomb uh overview. We are a building of K through six. Uh we also have the life skills program in our building. We serve approximately 315 students give or take. Uh some of the key programs that we have include art, music, choir this year, band and orchestra and we also have uh physical education of course. Our mission at Bomb Elementary is to collectively build a safe, respectful, and nurturing and inclusive environment focused
012on maximizing each student's ability to succeed in learning and life. Along with that, our vision involves preparing our students with the skills and mindset to thrive and take on the world. So, with that being said, we're going to look at some data. So, we're looking at rating and math data from uh last year's spring and how we're moving forward in the fall. As you can see there, uh we did well uh last spring. So, we started in the fall with the scores that you see uh listed in that chart. And in the winter, we had some area or grade levels where we improved and some grade levels where we still got to work on. uh our teachers are working really diligently in you know making sure that the kids get what they need so that
013in the spring we show all that improvement that we got to show in math we have a little bit more of a struggle as you can see [music] the spring was good as well in the fall the scores that you see there listed and then in the winter in first grade uh we decreased a little bit we did improve of course in kinder I mean they come new to the building uh second grade there was improvement. Third, fourth and fifth we decreased there a little bit and sixth grade shows some improvement. The overall uh and this goes along with our school improvement plan for the year. Uh the overall for the spring in reading was 44.3% in math was 45.3%. Our goal by the end of the year in reading is 49.3% and in math
01450.3%. So, we started in the fall with 31.9 in reading. [music] In math, 39.4 in reading. We improved a little bit in math. We are close, but we still have some work to do there. Our goal, like I said, is to meet those goals by the spring. So, uh we are proud to say that last year we were comprehensive. that was our designation in the building and our uh teachers and staff work really hard and we improve to target it. So once again the goal is to continue to move forward and go to the next designation. Hopefully we have a good year and we'll see what happens when the scores come back after IR and ISA. Okay. So Britney and I will kind of tag team some of the more fun celebratory things that we've
015got going on in the building. Uh so we wanted to start with the bomb athletics. So yes, we have several students that participate in cross country, volleyball, basketball, and track and field. Um we have a lot of students that like to participate in sports is one of their things that they would go for. So really incentivizes attendance and and keeping their grades up as well in classes. Um, we're very fortunate at Bomb to have the life skills program and within that programming, we get to experience a lot of of different things. Um, you can see from our pictures, we have a lot of field trips that our students have gone on. Um, there's a picture of a puppy. We love sensory uh lessons and learning about how different things feel and and learning to describe
016these things as well as different projects. Um, we've also been very fortunate that our uh, first year PE teacher, Mr. Dalton Spencer, applied for a grant and received some adaptive equipment for our PE program as well. And the students have been thriving and really loving that addition to their programming. We had grandparents day and it was very well attended. We had approximately 150 adults present. Um, and the students really enjoyed having their grandparents with them to have breakfast before they went to class. It was a good start to their day. We we like to do it at the beginning of the school year as well because it kind of gives us that initial um opportunity to make some contacts within the community and within their families. So that when we have reasons to reach out
017and celebrate when when we have concerns, we we've kind of built that foundation of a partnership by being able to break bread together as well. One of the most anticipated events at Bomb every year is our fall family festival. It is a huge carnival of sorts. Um, every grade level has a different game that they that they put on in the hallways. It's a big open house. Uh, we do a par a costume parade beforehand. huge hit, an insane turnout every year. And it's so much fun just to be able to build those relationships with kids and [music] families about what their costumes are, what their interests are, and it gives us another really great opportunity for partnership. The next slide is probably my favorite event that I do all year. It's our winter concert.
018Um, every year we put on a concert for our K through six students at Eisenhower. This year it was on December 4th. Um, and it's always a great way to start off the holiday season. Um, we always have a packed auditorium with standing room only and it's just great to see our families and our friends participate and to support their students and their music education. And along with that, we also make sure to celebrate the holidays and festivities. Um, in the building we have a theme day for every day in that we attend school in December. So, we have special visitors like the Grinch. I know we h also have guest readers. Uh, Dr. Clark actually had the opportunity to come and read to our third grade class, which they were so thrilled about. Um,
019and to send kids home the last day before um, break. We also have a pie in the face assembly where students that have had great attendance, great behavior, and and shown some real academic effort get the opportunity to deliver a pie in the face to some of their favorite staff members. So, it's always a very highly anticipated event. We also this year celebrate Bomb's 50th anniversary. Um during our assembly, we had a time capsule that was opened up by several guests, um including uh Michael Ebomb's brother, Russ Bomb, and former elementary uh staff members Barb White and Craig White. In November, we also had the opportunity to host Aaron Reynolds, a published author. He's famous for the creepy carrots and creepy pair of underwear and creepy crown books. The kids loved getting to see him
020and and listen to to those stories in person. [music] Very popular books in our library. They were hot commodities there for for a minute. And so we loved to be able to bring him to the building and foster that love of learning within our students [music] as well. Those are just a few of the things that we are doing at bomb uh that we wanted to show off here. Uh we also I mean one of the initiatives that we have is parental involvement. So we are working really hard in bringing parents into the building to see their support you know with students. Uh we have been getting a good turnout on that. This Thursday we have bingo night. So from 6:00 to 7:00 you're more than welcome to go. there's a concession stand available and
021everything. >> Yeah. So, that that has been one of our initiatives this year and it's it's [clears throat] going really well. So, thank you uh to all you know my assistant principles, teachers in the building and staff members that have you know helped in making all this things uh uh happen along with the parents that have been very supportive in you know helping us with you know doing good things for the kids and being present at the time of having this night event. No. Okay. Any questions? >> How how long have you been at Bomb? >> This is my third year. >> Third year. >> I'm looking at your your scores from the spring of 24 25 and then looking at winter 25 26 and it's it's not a good trend. >> Do you do
022you think things are improving under your watch? Are they the same or are they getting worse? Well, usually, you know, in the fall we have the first assessment. When we take the assessment in the winter, some of the standards that are assessed have not been covered. So, that's one of the things that uh affected that time. Now, as we move forward to spring, those standards are, you know, being taught and that's where you see the improvement. So, we're hoping because we do have uh it was a little low, especially on fourth grade in math. So, we're working really hard with, you know, interventions, uh, tier one in the classroom, tier two with, uh, TAs along with tier three, uh, certified staff working with kids on hitting those, uh, skills that the kids need to be
023able to succeed. >> So, your your math in 24 25 and the second grade was at 78.3 and then two two quarters later, it's at 45. >> Yeah. what what what would cause such a big drop? >> Part of it may be like I said the standards that have not been taught at the time. Uh another thing may be you know that we're we're struggling a little bit with truency. So uh we're getting the support with the parent from uh Dansby and bringing parents in to you know talk about the importance of students coming into the to the building so they can get instruction. So, and we have a few factors that are affecting, but we're working on, you know, going getting through those barriers and improving those scores. Any other questions? >> Can I
024just make a clarifying statement? >> Sure. >> Um, so, u, Mr. Reynolds, you talked about the 78.3 in the fall of 24 and 25. You have a whole new school year. So they went all summer and then started again with a new group of students. And so that's what he's talking about. These skills that had not been taught yet. >> So now you should start to see those increases going up within that same fiscal school year. >> But I then I looked at the next grade >> where those kids should have been at. I don't see >> those good those good scores. I [music] mean, they still they still drop actually down to 33.3 >> when you go >> over the next year. If you're saying they're the same kids, but the next year it's
025it's half. >> So, he's saying, and I just focused on what you said when you said the 78.6 78.3. [music] In the fall, they were at 38.6. In winter, they're already at 45.2. >> Is that the same group of kids or is that another group? >> This is the same, >> but Why such a big decrease? >> That's a good question. So, I mean, he would have to do some more disagregation in order to determine what all factors are there, but some of the things that he's told you is spot on. >> All right. >> I think that our mobility rate would probably play a a considerable factor in that as well. >> We've we've had a very high mobility rate, >> meaning they leave your school to go to a different school. We have
026a lot that have left. We've we have a lot that have come in. I if I were to estimate within February, we've had at least 20 new students. >> And so when you when you look at a new student coming in then having to learn all the routines and and what gaps we might have experienced between a transfer of different buildings or a lot of ours are different districts as well. So learning a new curriculum and approach to doing different skills could also be playing a factor. >> All right. Well, thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Okay. We'll now move on to public participation. Board of Education would like to note the following during public participation. Identify oneself and be brief. Comment should be limited to three minutes. Any public comments submitted to
027the board secretary will be included in the record. Please note that during any board of education meeting and public participation, board members do not respond and or comment to public comments. All comments are referred to administration. Furthermore, the board refrains from referring to specific students or staff members by name and requests that public commenters refrain from doing so as well. The request that [clears throat] you omit names is made to protect you from allegations of liable or slander or from violations of the Illinois School Student Records Act. It is not intended to shield an employee from criticism. Miss Bradford, do we have anyone wishing to address the board? Cammy better. Good evening members of the board. My name is Cammy Meadow and I am the current principal of Dennis Lab School. Tonight, I want you
028to hear my truth and know that I am more than just a name in a box. In just a few minutes later in this meeting, you will be asked to acknowledge my retirement at the end of this school year. I stand before you today deeply concerned about the circumstances surrounding my forced retirement after 38 years in education, a decision that was made not by my own choosing. Throughout my career, I have dedicated myself to supporting students, families, [music] and staff, and I believe I have contributed positively to this district. The forced decision was shared with me in what I thought was going to be my summitive meeting, which then turned in quickly to a disciplinary action meeting without any warning. I would love to schedule a meeting with board members. I know I can only
029have two at a time to share more information and evidence that supports this illegal action. Recently, I learned as the principal through a rooc call that Dennis Lamp families and staff would be returning to the Dennis campus this fall with nothing changing for the upcoming school year. However, despite this reassurance, I was given the choice to resign or go back to the classroom. I reached out in November to my principal team to express my concerns about how I was feeling targeted and unfairly evaluated. I also requested a meeting with higher admin in December to discuss these issues incling including HIPPA violations, violations of more privacy and the unfairness related to my current evaluator. Unfortunately, since that time, I have not received any response, communication, or followup at that meeting. Two weeks ago, I was invited
030to my summitive evaluation meeting only to arrive and find out it was cancelled. A higher admin told me that he needed to review my information and that we would reschedu. Then last Tuesday, I was scheduled for the same meeting only to be blindsided by the announcement that my contract would not be renewed. I asked about my opportunity to share my artifacts, what I was continuing to do for the school, and concerns, but disciplinary actions continued without any explanation. Furthermore, the report I received labeled my performance clear across the board as needs improvement despite 14 years of positive evaluation and no documented issues entered into the talent ed system prior to the years of school year. When I inquired with hire admin, had he reviewed my information like asked in the meeting he admitted he did
031not. So I did not sign or acknowledge any documentation at that time. Given these circumstances, I have consulted with legal counsel to review the illegal actions of this process and my forced retirement. I am here to ask that my concerns be acknowledged and that due process be followed as I believe I deserve a fair and transparent resolution after nearly four dedicate or four decades of dedicated service. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you. >> Thank you Tamara Troder. Good evening. I would like to talk about the heart and soul of our school at Dennis Lab, Miss Cammy Matter. She's an inspiration to all who have the good fortune to work [music] with her. Because of Miss Meadow, we have a school we can all be a proud of. Not only does she
032communicate well with all the staff, she has a way in how she communicates with the children and the parents and that they walk away feeling better about themselves and are inspired by her words and actions. The children strive to do better and when they accomplish something, Miss is the one they go to because they know how proud she is of them. The staff at Dennis Lab is one big family with Miss Meadow at the helm. She stands in the lobby first thing in the morning as the children come in and she reminds them of how loved they are and what a beautiful day it will be. She's also there at the end of the school day to tell them how great they are and always has a hug for them. I feel forcing her to
033retire from the very school she built up is wrong. [music] If you, our school board members, could be there and see how Miss Matter is on a daily basis, you would see and understand how important she is to Dennis Lab and the school district. I have personally witnessed the following examples of her impact on our students. Non-verbal children and kids who didn't like touch, didn't even want to come into the school are now speaking and very happy to receive a hug. This is thanks to Miss Meadow and staff. Children are actually happy to come to school and are ready to learn. How awesome is that? So, please on behalf of Miss Meadow, staff, children, and parents, please renew her contract. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Thanks to Thanks to all of our commenters
034tonight. Uh we always appreciate that public comment. Um, are there any other comments from the audience tonight? Okay, seeing none, we'll move on to board discussion. Uh, and I'll ask I think it's going to be a presentation by group here tonight. Um, Will Wetszel, Ashley, Jay Marino. >> I think they're just doing an update. Mhm. [clears throat] >> Yeah. An update on roadmap. >> Oh, okay. Um I think they want you guys to lead. Okay. All right. >> Um we met uh last Wednesday uh and our roadmap committee. It was a good meeting. We talked about uh went back and looked back at things like our high leverage strategies which are the thing how we're going to um move education forward in the district. We had a lot of very good deep discussions in small
035groups. Um we did a gallery walk and started to uh really gather information and it was a good way to uh the thought is to use some of that uh same methodology when we have our community forums to elicit community feedback and to have a deeper discussion uh with the community. [music] And those community forms are coming up on March 11th. Um March uh March 11th and it'll be at both high schools and [music] so you'll see more information on that. It's just uh more convenient for people on either side of town to get there. Um really I I think um for me personally, the session on last Wednesday was really eye opening. had a great chance to uh connect with uh some of our teachers and with some of our community stakeholders that we
036don't often think about uh who who don't often come through the orbit of our schools uh that came and it was a good deep discussion. I think uh there's a lot of a lot of good momentum here. So we have upcoming uh sta uh all staff forum uh coming up in the next couple weeks and also these larger community forums and still on track to deliver [music] a strategic plan on a page by May. Um before I move, okay, thank you. [laughter] Before we go any further, um just based on the timeline that was provided to the board a little while ago, uh we said we will come back and discuss with you the possibility of an RFP or an RFQ uh in order to hire an architectural firm to help with the facilities piece.
037We wanted to do this early um so that the individual or individuals could start attending the remaining the remaining um meetings that are taking place right now so they can get more information on the academic piece that's going to help with the facilities part. So at this time I would entertain any questions you may have concerning an RFP or an RFQ or and Dr. Curry um will assist me as well. Will will this be by going through with this? Will this be to for example assess square footage per student? Um to explain placements and things like that for our student population. Is that what this essentially? >> As I understand it, we we did have a third party that helps us the first time around. We're looking to go back out for another third party
038to provide things such as square footage um standards for students per square foot. Um look at uh the buildings as um how viable they are or not. U we're not looking for a new architect at this point. This is just a third set of eyes to provide as I understand it to provide a different perspective and provide those those data uh related numbers as they are to all school system all schools as far as square footage and space. >> I got a followup. So [music] there is a chance they could come to us and say we have to build a wing onto a school for example. >> I will tell you the likelihood of that happening um before they look at everything that we have is very very slim. >> Okay. And their job will
039be to make suggestions. >> Yes. And and the more important part is getting through what we're going to do about education and the academic piece and and once we have that together and that's what we're going to do by May that will inform uh how we deal with our buildings because buildings are just tools. >> I'm just trying to get a grasp on what kind of expenditures we could be looking for in the future. And >> I think that's a >> for this particular RFP or other things. >> I mean I guess my question is eventually this is going to lead to something. Am I right? Yes. And so basically what is going to happen um once everything is said and done, they're going to apply what you want academically to how that is going
040to look in classrooms. And we have a lot of buildings as you know [music] that are not being fully utilized. Right. >> Right. >> Um if I remember correctly, we're probably utilizing about 75% of our buildings as a whole. Right. Um, so yes, trying to put some things in place to where um, yeah, maybe you can. And I'm making this up and I'm going say this three times. I am making this up. I am making this up. >> If you wanted to put K through [music] eight in Stephen Decar, there is enough space in there for you to do so. >> Right. So those are the decisions that are going to be made based on the academic profile that has been established. We will we will need them to provide the model uh with the
041data. >> Okay. >> Are we going to try to prioritize [music] what to do with Dennis? >> Uh all the schools are the priority and I know you guys are tired of me saying that all the schools are the priority. So whatever is decided in these models that you have in the end Dennis and all other schools will be considered one Decator district. This is what we need to see happen if you want to see this change take place. It can mean Dennis moving to another building. It can be people moving to the site where Dennis is now. It can mean so many different things because we have 15 viable facilities. >> Well, the reason I I bring up Dennis is that we have a big cost there with these these portable classrooms and I
042think we're in a are we in our third year? >> We are and you have an agreement for a fourth year in front of you tonight, I believe. >> Yeah. I mean, we we I feel for Dennis. I feel for their frustration and and the lack of answers that we as a board have been able to give them. And I I [music] would just encourage us to give them I mean, we're all one, but give them a little priority to try and get them answers to [music] to their concerns. >> I feel for them. So, we've said that yes, we understand they would love to be able to go maybe to a different building, come out of the modules at this time, but we knew that they were going to be in that location until
043these decisions were made. We were hoping to be done by now, but we had to pause, remember? So, they kind of pushed us out a little bit. In terms of the modules themselves, we kind of still need them regardless because whatever you decide to do as a district, [music] if it means moving kids, you need a place to move them. So, as you're working on one building, you're still going to have to pick up kids and move them to another location. Poss possibly. Possibly. Okay. So, we're just trying to make sure that we're looking at all avenues. And yes, I know it is frustrating because we should be someplace different by now, but we're not there. But the the one thing that I am glad about is that we are taking the time to cut
044this cake one time. And I understand that. But I feel I too feel for Dennis. I mean, what is the cost per year for this fourth year for those modulars? 630. >> Yeah. I mean, yeah, you know, it it's somewhere between 6 and 650. >> I mean, I I've spoken from this podium a lot about Dennis. when we had our work session, it I explained my feelings about the dentist situation and um in the wonderful staff there and the wonderful kids and the wonderful parents and and I understand baking the big cake. I I'm all for roadmap. I commend Miss Tyus and Mr. Wetzel for the hard work they're doing and everybody else that's on that committee. But $630,000 for these trailers is is an expenditure I'm having a hard time swallowing. I've always said
045with a little creativity, hard work from our bargaining units, from our capable staff down here at the Kyle building, an answer could be found that would [music] save the district 630K. And I just I'm I'm off subject because I think we're going to come down to the modulars. Am I right? Okay. So, I'll I'll I'll wave the rest of my comments till then, but um um I'm proud of the direction we're going. I think it says a lot about the people we have here that are putting in the fight to to change the narrative for Decatur Public Schools. We have a new superintendent coming on. Um we have our superintendent now that's doing hard work to [music] make sure people are taken care of. But my problem is this. We need to govern now. I
046understand waiting for the plan and then bringing it forward. My only concern is um we have a smaller community that I think my my the person to my left Mr. Reynolds said [music] I I feel frustrated that we're we're kind of kicking the can down the road for these people and that just [music] that just bothers me. I wanted to get that on the record. >> I appreciate you saying that. >> Thank you. Um, do you have any questions about options at this time when it comes to selecting um, an architect or an architectural firm? >> How quickly do you think we can turn this around? >> I can probably have something generated by Friday that could go out next week and then it's the the [music] time that you want to put into [snorts]
047it uh, to hopefully get some candidates back that are interested in taking on this struggle. I mean, that's where we're at. We're we're at a point now where we need to make decisions and so whoever comes in knows they're going to have a heavy lift. So, um I would say I would say 30 days um from Friday to the to the uh acceptance of the RFPs. >> I guess very practically is it going to make sense to I I think it was Clinger wasn't is that the name of the firm? >> No, it was Green and Associates. Green who did the work for us though. Who did the structural work for us? >> Clinger and Associates did the structural survey. Yes. But Green and Associates did the modeling for space and usage and student capacity.
048>> I was just curious it would make sense to utilize somebody we've already has knowledge of all of our buildings, has some baseline put together, and doesn't have to come in and recreate the wheel. >> I could certainly reach and then if there's no interest, go to RFP. But whatever you guys direct me to do, I can get done. >> Mr. Wetszel, >> are we gonna have to do the qualifications piece again like we had to do when we selected Green Associates? >> Yes. >> Okay. So, we'll have it's basically two meetings. >> Okay. >> Sorry. Go ahead. Wait a minute. If >> it would be close um probably be my guess being how long this takes, but we have talked to Luke a little bit about >> 40,000 index for >> you will definitely
049want to bring your I guess what I was getting at is you're going to bring them in. they're going to interview them or you're going to have one of us interview them and select for you. But you're definitely going to have to have information about each one and then make a decision. So what I will be looking for is [music] a the option that um Bill just stated. If we can find someone before that has worked with us, that's an option for us. But if that's not the case, I will need a consensus to move forward with an RFP. >> I just want to make sure whoever we bring in has experience doing this. That's that's my main concern. >> Absolutely. >> Uh because I'm not sure what pedigree on Clinger is. I know that
050they did. >> I do. They're solid, but that's just me. But we we should RFP and bring in all the possible options. What's consensus? >> Yeah. >> RFP is fine. >> RFP. >> Do you want a 30-day window starting Friday? >> Yeah. >> See what I can do. Okay. Okay. We'll move on to Is there anything else board would like to discuss? I'm sorry, I'm backing up a little bit. No. Okay, we'll move on to reports from administration. Monica, >> good evening board, Dr. Clark and Miss Bradford. Um, thank you for the opportunity to present our um, HR exit survey data. Um, as the board is aware, we started collecting this data with Fidelity last January. Um, so it's a timely opportunity for us to report out on what we've learned in the past year
051from our separations. So, the board received a handout. Um, just want to make sure you all have copies. Wanted you to see what the actual um exit and exit survey questions are. Um, I'm not able to present all of the results from every question, but I wanted you to see what the employees are asked. All right. Okay. So this is what the start of the exit survey actually looks like for an employee. Um this survey is sent out to all staff [music] who separate and I want to point out all staff. So whether they separate and they leave voluntarily or involuntarily we give them the opportunity to present their feedback. Um there were 60 respondents total which represents a 38.4% [music] response rate which is pretty decent. Um, and so I'll uh show you some
052data about our separation trends and then we'll talk a little bit about the raw data and then um some of the trends that we can gather from from what we see here. Um but before we dive in, I just want to acknowledge that I see this as a real opportunity for the district. Um you can't change what you don't know and what you don't acknowledge. So this is our opportunity to address some of the concerns from our staff who are separating. Okay. So this is um our resignation data over time. So from last January um to [music] this January there were 156 separations. You can see that the trends are typically at the semester marks. So in January like December, January, then again in May and then in August. Um and so those are not
053atypical for when our staff resign um and separate from the district. um you can just see where the higher uh points in time are which uh tend to be in August and then again in [music] May. For this the staff who separate we looked at what was their district tenure at the time of separation and what we found is that most employees actually leave within their first five years. And so across the board when we look at it in terms of all of our separations, it's the early career turnover that seems to be the biggest retention challenge. That is a little bit different when we break it down into various groups. So we'll look at that data here in a moment, but overall it's within the first five years. All right. Right. When we look
054at the top drivers of why employees are leaving, and again this is all the data collected, um the top drivers tend to be personal or family reasons, lack of support, working conditions, and career advancement. And so the two that the district has control over, um and those outcomes is the support and then the working conditions. >> Yes, sir. >> Can you go back to that slide? >> I think so. There we [laughter] go. >> Can you give any type of insight into what lack of support means? >> We'll get there just a little bit. >> Okay. This is just a graphic that shows you by employee group why the employees are leaving and it breaks it into some general categories. So the employee group is down at the bottom. So admin support admin all the
055way through to our TAs and then the group's total. And then you can kind of see as a collective group what the top reasons are and kind of how they aggregate. I'm going to show you the same data in a chart. It might be a little bit easier to read, but it's the exact same data that was in the [music] graph. So you can see um across the board 42 is kind of the other category. So that means we need to dive deeper and find out what that other means. Um but in the general bucket categories, personal family again like the data showed is the number one reason. Working conditions is second and then it looks like uh relocation is the third factor. Okay. Um I thought this was interesting. How long did it take
056you to decide to leave? I thought this was an interesting data point. Um, and so when you look at most of our separations, um, it's not like in a day, right? That's the lowest. So it's not like an impulse decision. Um, and it's also not like I thought about it over a year. Those were the lowest. Um, [music] and and about a week, I should say. Um, 3 to 6 months and then over the course of a few weeks kind of had the highest trend. We'll talk a little bit more about that. Okay. So, general conclusions. Um, and that first area that says turnover is concentrated in instructional roles, that means that 73 of the responses came from certified teachers and teaching assistants. That doesn't mean that they [music] exit at a higher rate, but
057that's just who's the most responsive according to the survey. Um, but early and mid-career employees are the most vulnerable again in the first five years. Um, and over 80% of exits occur before the first 10 years of [music] service and the exits are not impulsive. Okay. Okay. So, now we're going to look at the trends by employee group. So, we're going to start with our certified teachers and certified specialists. There were a total of 23 respondents. The key trends with that group is that there was a high dissatisfaction with district level leadership and support um and a moderate dissatisfaction with building level leadership. Um and uh there was a a need for stronger peer support. Now again, voluntary and involuntary separations are included, right? [music] Um there were concerns about working conditions, admin support, training,
058and then behavior in classroom challenges. Um that trend emerged a lot in the response data. Uh most of the certified group are in their mid-career, so 6 to 10 and 11 to 15 years. So that differs than the total group. Um so we have a higher risk of losing experienced instructional staff with our teaching assistants that um accounted for 20 respondents. Uh key trends there it was more the personal family factors relocation and then hours and compensation. Um the writeins common themes wanting more hours pay not matching responsibility schedule constraints and then limited [music] advancement pathways. Um so in that in terms of that risk profile there's highly early career or high early career turnover sorry and then compensation and schedule are key um levers in terms of whether or not they stay um the
059smaller group so admin secretarial support clerical extended [music] day um there were fewer responses but a few recurring themes so support from leadership workload scheduling and compensation um so less more about classroom obviously um but more about operational expectations and their workload. Okay. So, um thank you for asking the question. Um I thought it would be interesting to see because support was mentioned several times. Um in the survey it does ask what does support look like to you? And so by group [music] um we identified and pulled out some of the more popular themes. So for the certified group, um here are some of the responses and these were all write-in responses. Um so recognizing their success, autonomy, um recognizing their love to teach, uh mental health and work life balance, listening to their concerns,
060feeling heard and understood, um seeing action after expressing concerns, um staff acknowledgement and staff appreciation, and then showing uh positive support and teamwork. Okay, for our teaching assistant group, which was the second largest group to respond, it's communication, positive feedback, equity and respect, support from admin, more training, um finding solutions as a team, working as a team, clear expectations, um etc. Okay. Okay. I thought this was um a pretty interesting and a positive data point. When we asked would former staff consider returning to DPS, the majority said yes or maybe. So to me that's a real opportunity. That means that if there [music] are factors that could be changed that they could and would return. So I thought that was really positive. And then I love this question which is what did you enjoy most
061about working at DPS? And um overwhelmingly it is the relationships with co-workers and staff and obviously our students. So, no surprises there, but I thought it was a really positive [music] um data point to point out collected in the survey. Okay, so next steps, what do we do with this data? And again, I didn't uh provide all of the data points. So, there's a lot more to dig into, but um we need to continue to collect and analyze this data. This is very valuable stuff. Um we need to implement strategies to learn more. So the next step I would like to see happen is a staff retention survey. We need to not only ask those who are leaving why they leave, we need to ask those who stay, why do you stay and what's important
062to you so we don't lose you? Um it would be I think effective to have listening sessions with staff so that they can just share their experiences and we can document that. Um and then do what um Dr. Clark already implemented with some admin in the past couple of years is stay interviews and talk to those who have just joined the district within the first couple of years and talk about um how is it going and why do you stay but it's an in-person sit down face toface interview. Um I will say that if you look at the questions at the end of the survey everyone is offered the opportunity to [music] have an inperson or a virtual exit interview only three people responded that they wanted that but then never scheduled. So, we will
063look at how we can um either help people see that through um but at least make sure people are aware that they can request um an in-person exit interview. We also need to embed this data into road map. So, uh goal three in road mapap is to promote a positive workplace. So, this data will be very valuable in achieving what we want um in road map. Um and then from all of this, we need to create a district retention plan. We need to be very intentional and strategic about keeping our staff and so we will implement those retention strategies and then evaluate and measure annually. What questions can I answer? >> So this is your now baseline data moving forward. >> This is year one baseline data. Um but I think we need to build
064upon that. So with the staff retention survey, we need to learn more about the working conditions and what support means. [music] um what type of uh support do they need from admin if that seems to be a concern and it may not be as much of a concern for the staff who stay but we need to get an answer to that question a definitive answer. Thank you for doing this. This is a great way to build some scaffolding to at least uh start I've my father always had a famous saying love the army you have in the field. Sometimes we talk about what we don't have and we need to get our hooks into the teachers that have stayed and taught our kids and fought as hard as they could for us. >> Agree. Agree.
065>> And being a classroom teacher for 22 years, [music] um, one of the things that I've heard many, many times is people don't leave districts, people leave buildings, >> people leave leadership. And so I think that if we really work on our administrators and our principles and our leadership, we can really focus on how to develop that sense of teamwork that our teachers really want and also to develop that staff acknowledgement that it really feels like they're craving. >> Yes. >> So I know that I I love how that you said that this is um there's nowhere to go but up and that this is, you know, something that we can work with. >> Absolutely. I will say one of the questions that you'll see I think it was question 25 but it asked about
066um [music] to list someone who made a positive impact on your experience with the district and oh my gosh it was overwhelming in the number of responses and there were ton and ton of our building administrators and our district leaders that were mentioned there. um I just didn't pull that out to share it here. But I want to find a way to even acknowledge those folks because even as someone was leaving, they thought enough to say, "But when I was here, this person made a positive impact." So I just want to, you know, let our administrators know there are some positive things that are being said about your leadership as well. >> Thank you. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. If there's no more questions, if there are no more questions, that will end
067our report from administration. >> Okay, move on to our consent items. Does anyone want any of these items pulled from the agenda? Seeing none, Dr. I recommend the board of education approve the consent items as presented which includes a minutes special close session meeting February 3rd 2026 and open close meetings February [music] 10th 2026 B financial conditions report January C treasurer's report January 2026 D job description chief operational officer update dates. >> Do I have a motion? >> So move. >> Second. >> Discussion. >> Miss Bradford. >> Dr. Lorenson. [music] >> Hi. >> Mr. Hail. >> Hi. >> Mr. Reynolds. >> Hi. >> Mr. Clevener. Hi. >> Mrs. Tyus. Hi. >> And Mr. Wetszel. >> Hi. >> Six eyes. Zero nay. One absent. Motion carried. >> Okay. We'll now move on to our roll call
068action items for for our listening audience. We've changed the order only of our roll call action items. Um, I recommend the appointment and approval of a contract with Dr. Nicole Moody as our next superintendent for Decar Public School District 61 as presented. >> Second. >> Any discussion? I'm glad we got a strong second there, Miss Bradford. Mr. Cleger I >> Mrs. Tyus >> I >> Dr. Laoren >> I >> Mr. Hail >> I >> Mr. Reynolds >> Hi >> and Mr. Wetszel >> I >> 6 I zero nay one absent MOTION [applause] >> you get your second shot today to make a few more comments [applause] >> thank you thank you so much uh board of education my heart beat every time [laughter] I heard one of your responses and I appreciate your full support
069from the moment that we sat down for the first time that we met each other um I felt a connection of heart in mind for education. And so I appreciate that and appreciate uh the conversations that we've had already about the great things that are already happening here in Decar and the work that we have to do. And I was listening to some of that tonight. But this is public education. So it's hard work, but it's worthy work not only for our children and our families, but our community. And we're committed to it. And so I I appreciate I start with Dr. Clark and your leadership. and I'm going to hold on tight to you until you're gone and still keep your cell phone number. Um it is um leadership is difficult and so I
070know that is the truth not only um from the district leadership but the board who is leading uh the great work of the community. Um yet I have yet to step away from a challenge. So I am ready to step right into this. I appreciate my village that is with me. If you all can stand >> [applause] >> Thank you so much my family that is here supporting me, friends. Uh thank you very much here right here indicator as well as from Spriekfield. So I not only come and my husband and one of my children were here earlier. Um so we will be coming the Moody Bunch will be here. So the Moody Bunch includes uh six children. So two at elementary, two at middle school and two at high school. So we are coming
071and we have our support behind us. So we are excited about the venture. Um we know there's a lot ahead. Um as I said some challenges but I felt plenty of joy and love um as I came here today and even the hard work ahead. The genius is in the room. The genius is in the room. So we have work to do and we'll do it together. Thank you. >> Thank you. [applause] YOU'RE READY to get running, right? There you go. Okay. Welcome to Decatur. Okay, moving on. Do we have a recommendation to ratify a suspension without pay for a min piatt special education district paraprofessional? >> Yes. I recommend the board of education ratify and approve the two-day suspension without pay for Christa Hort pronounced I'm sorry it's pronounced Hort of Monet special education
072district paraprofessional employee effective Wednesday February 25th 2026 and Thursday February 26 2026 as presented. Please note the Mon Payet Special Education Executive Board approved this item at their February 19th, 2026 board meeting. Do >> I have a motion? >> Move. >> Second. >> Discussion. >> Miss Bradford. >> Mr. Wetzel. >> Hi. >> Mr. Hail. >> Hi. >> Mr. Reynolds. >> Hi. >> Dr. Laorenson. >> Hi. >> Mr. Cleer. >> Hi. >> And Mrs. Tyus. >> Hi. >> 6 I zero. One absent. Motion carried. Do we have a recommendation to ratify and approve a contract for an assistant director of Min Piatt special education district? >> Yes. I recommend the board of education ratify and approve the contract for Andrea Maple for the position of assistant director of Mon Pest Special Education District for the 2627
073school year as presented. Please note that making PA special education [music] executive board approved this item during their February 19th, 2026 board meeting. >> So moved. >> Second discussion. >> Miss Bradford. >> Mr. Reynolds. >> Hi. >> Mr. Hail. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Tyus. >> Hi. >> Mr. Wetszel. >> Hi. >> Mr. Clevenger. >> I. >> Dr. Laoren. >> Hi. >> Six eyes. Zero date. One absent. Motion carried. Oh, she's here. Thank you. We were just wondering if you were here. >> I don't know how to follow that, though. >> Welcome. Uh, good evening everybody. I just want to say thank you and I really appreciate this opportunity and I'm really excited and everything she said. [laughter] >> Thank you. >> All right. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Do we have a recommendation for the
074personnel action items? >> Yes. Yes. I recommend a board of education approve the personnel action items listed in a memo from Monica Wils, director of human resources and the human resources department as presented. >> A motion move. >> Second >> discussion. >> Miss Bradford, >> Mr. Clevener. >> Hi. >> Dr. Lorenson. >> Hi. >> Mr. Wetzel. >> Hi. >> Mr. Hail. >> Hi. >> Mr. Reynolds. >> Hi. >> And Mrs. Tyus. >> Hi. >> Six eyes. Zero nay. One absent. Motion carried. Do you have a recommendation for the modular classroom lease addendum? >> Yes. I recommend the board of education approve the modular classroom lease addendum as presented. >> A motion. >> Second discussion. >> I think I've said everything I'm going to say. Any other discussion? >> Miss Bradford. >> Mr. Hail. >> Wait
075a minute. Go ahead. Sorry. [laughter] >> I was going to say something. Sorry. Uh, Mr. Hail, I appreciate you taking a dissenting voice on this and being will being able to discuss it with this board. I know that this has not been a great place for dissent in previous boards and I just appreciate it. Thank you. >> Thank you, >> Mr. Hail. >> Nay, >> Mr. Cleger, >> I. >> Mr. Wetszel, >> hi. >> Dr. Laoren, >> I >> Mrs. Tyus, >> I. >> And Mr. Reynolds, >> hi. >> Five eye, one nay, one absent. Motion carried. >> Thank you. Do we have a recommendation for the renovation of buildings and grounds loading dock? >> Yes. I recommend a board of education approve the renovation of build >> Oh, I went I'm so sorry. I'm
076moving too fast. Yes. I recommend the board of education approve the renovation of the buildings and grounds loading dock as presented. Thank you. >> Are you sure? >> Yes. I'm sorry. I missed I missed the page. My apologies. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Miss Bradford. >> Mrs. Tyus. >> Hi. >> Mr. Wetszel. >> Hi. >> Mr. Cleger. >> Hi. >> Dr. Lorenson. >> Hi. >> Mr. Reynolds. Hi. >> And Mr. Hail. Hi. >> 6 I zero nay. One absent. Motion carried. >> Do we have a recommendation [clears throat] for the renovation of buildings and grounds mechanical garage? >> Yes. I recommend the board of education approve the renovation of buildings and grounds mechanical garage as presented. >> Motion. Second. >> Any discussion? >> Can I ask what this renovation is going to be? >>
077Dr. Jackson. >> So, it starts it started with the uh heat ventilators there. There's like one maybe working total. Uh it also includes new lifts for the vehicles. Um one of them is pretty we don't use it because it's pretty dangerous. We've got another one that we're overusing. Um, I've been in the garage more than once where a door has had to have somebody come out and and repair the door. So, it's going to be brand new doors, um, heating, potentially air conditioning. We're going to look at the cost. I know Mr. Reynolds has a concern about that, but we'll bring that cost to you. Uh, and so that's basically just kind of bringing it up to 2025 from 1970. >> 26 in the building. >> Heat in the building. Correct. >> And remember, we
078have 75 vehicles or more a fleet to that we service. I was just making a joke. They need the heat. >> Can't stand the heat. Get out of the kitchen. >> But they do need the heat. >> So, we were waiting on the air conditioning. >> Yeah, we're not moving forward with anything. You've given us permission through the finance committee to move forward the scope of this project. We will bring you items as they come along, but we wanted to know that we could move forward piece by piece on this project. Some of it may need to be bid, so we'll we'll just find out. >> Same with the loading dock. We'll start on that pretty quick. Thank you for >> any other question. >> And where's this building? This is on s sero. >>
079It's right down the street. Yes. Yeah. Okay. >> M. Brad. >> Dr. Lorenson. >> Hi. >> Mr. Wetszel. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Tyus. >> Hi. >> Mr. Clevenger. >> Hi. >> Mr. Hail. >> Hi. >> And Mr. Reynolds. >> Hi. >> 6 I zero nay. One absent. Motion carried. Do we have a recommendation for a project to mill, repave, and strike parking lots at Hope Academy in three sections [music] at Steven Decator Middle School? >> Yes. I recommend a board of education approve the project to meal, repave, and strike parking lots at Hope Academy in three sections at Steven Decator Middle School as presented. >> Move. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Miss Bradford. >> Dr. Lorenson, I have a question. Yes, real fast. [laughter] >> Get your hand up. >> Sorry, I didn't know
080you was going that fast. Okay, so this was the part that we talked about that was a priority. >> Absolutely. So, first of all, I want to commend the facilities and finance committee over the last four months to take a deep look at everything from a new vehicle that we needed to these uh these renovations. We put it out there plenty of times and talked about it and we appreciate it. And yes, there were five section [music] six sections I think that we talked about. You guys chose three and we're moving forward with those three. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> For clarification, there's a motion and second on the floor. >> Ready for the roll. >> Dr. Laoren. [music] >> I. >> Mr. Hail. >> Hi. >> Mr. Reynolds. >> Hi. >> Mr.
081Wzel. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Tyus. >> Hi. >> And Mr. Clevener. >> I. >> 6 I zero nay. One absent. Motion carried. >> Thank you. >> Do we have a recommendation for the first service contract for transportation routing? >> Yes. Yes. I recommend the board of education approve the first service contract for transportation routing as presented. >> Motion. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Yeah. I I I need to ask what scenario are we are we adopting here? There was one, two, three scenarios. The first page just kind of shows >> wasn't anticipating that question. the current considerations. I'm looking at Mike and it it says traverse a map. >> Yes. >> Traverse a license. >> Yes. >> First service routing. What what scenario are we adopting? And what's the cost? >>
082Do you have it, Mike, or do you want mine? >> I have it. The cost >> is it. >> Is Kimmy here? >> Oh, thank God. [laughter] I relied on Kimmy for this one. She's been wanting >> She's been wanting this for quite a while. It's time to move forward. >> It's a scenario too because we'll need for uh services to help out with the edg um transversal migration like they did with edg when they were with our routing system. >> I I just wanted to know make sure I knew what the cost was. >> Correct. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. I like to do this to Mike every once in a while. >> It sounds good to me. >> You're very good at it, sir. >> And and so we'll be d uh
083we'll be drawing up routes in house. Is this what I'm reading? No. >> Okay. So, special ed is with First Services. General ed is with the [music] district. So, I do all the routing for Jen Ed. >> Okay. Thank you. >> No further discussion. Miss Bradford, >> Mr. Hail, >> I >> Mr. Cleer, >> hi >> Mr. Wzel. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Tyus. >> Hi, >> Dr. Laorenson. >> Hi. >> And Mr. Reynolds, I >> six I zero nay, one absent. Motion carried. >> Okay, just stayed in place. >> Do we have a recommendation for the Tyler Technology Versatrans contract for transportation software? >> Yes. I recommend the board of education approve the Tyler technology versat contract for transportation software as presented. >> So move >> second discussion. >> I would bet she really loves
084this. >> This software sounded terrific. >> Yes, it does. >> And it interfaces with our current financial software. >> Wow. >> Makes sense. >> We'll be cutting bait with another software and so it should eventually net back to zero traffic. >> Mr. Bradford, >> Mr. Reynolds, >> hi >> Dr. Laorenson. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Tyus. Hi, >> Mr. Wetszel. >> Hi, >> Mr. Clevenger. >> Hi, >> and Mr. Hail. >> I 6 I zero nay, one absent. Motion carried. >> We have a recommendation to adopt a resolution for Decator Club Decator Public School District 61 amended budget for FY26. Yes. I recommend the board of education adopt the resolution for the Decatur Public School District DPS61 amended budget for FY26 as presented. >> We did the public hearing on it. Now we're coming back and
085>> formalizing the public the results of public hearing. >> So move >> second. >> Miss Bradford. >> Mr. Hail. >> I >> Mr. Cleger. >> Hi. >> Mr. Wetszel. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Tyus. >> Hi. >> Dr. Laoren. I and Mr. Reynolds >> 6 I zero one absent. Motion carried. >> Thank you. Decater public school district 61 resolutions. Uh for your information, Superintendent Clark will bring resolution recommendations to the board of education for Decar Public School District 61. Board members, do you have any questions regarding this process at this time? Okay, Dr. Clark. Motion one. I make a motion that the board of education adopt I make a motion that the board of education adopt the resolution that reference the dismissal of Margaret McGee. the resolution that reference the dismissal of Margaret McGee as a
086professional educator licensed employee as presented and that the superintendent or her designate be authorized and directed to deliver or calls to be delivered the notice to the employee as specified in the resolution. Do >> I have a motion? So move >> second discussion. >> Miss Bradford. >> Mr. Cleer. >> Hi. >> Dr. Lorenson. >> Hi. >> Mr. Wel. >> Hi. >> Mr. Hail. >> Hi. Mr. Reynolds >> and Mrs. Tyus I >> six I zero nay one absent motion carried >> motion number two I make a motion that the board of education adopt the resolution that reference the dismissal of David Doru as a professional educator licensed employee as presented and that the superintendent or her designate be authorized and directed to deliver or call to be delivered the notice to the employee as specified
087in the resolution. >> Have a motion. Second. >> Any discussion? >> Miss Bradford. >> Mr. Reynolds. >> Hi. >> Mr. Hail. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Tyus. >> Hi. >> Mr. Wetszel. >> Hi. >> Mr. Clevener. Hi. >> And Dr. Lorenson. I >> 6 I zero NA. One absent. Motion carried. >> Resolution. I'm sorry. Motion number three. I make a motion that the board of education adopt the resolution that reference the dismissal of Kenneth Aqua as a professional educator licensed employee as presented and that the superintendent or her designate be authorized and directed to deliver a call to be delivered the notice to the employee as specified in the resolution move. >> Second discussion >> Miss Bradford >> Dr. Laoren hi >> Mr. Hail >> Mr. Reynolds >> Hi >> Mr. Clegerer. >> Hi, >> Mrs.
088Tyus. >> Hi. >> And Mr. Wetszel. >> Hi. >> Six eyes. Zero nay, one absent. Motion carried. >> Okay, we'll move on to announcements and upcoming dates. I believe they're going to be listed on the screen here in just a minute. Our announcements, um, board of education and our administration sends condolences to the family of Roger Fry, passed away Wednesday, February 4th, 2026. Mr. Fry was the brother of Ray Fry, construction consultant in the buildings and grounds department. Our sincere condolences out to the family of the Fry. Important dates, February 25th, community members, business leaders, principal for a day, 8:30 to 11:30 throughout the district. March 2nd, Casemir Palaski holiday school is in session. March 4th, DPS staffonly forum regarding road mapap 2030, 400 pm at Eisenhower High School. And the 6th of March is
089the end of third quarter. The 11th of March, community forum open to the public regarding road mapap 2030. That's at 5:30 at both high schools. March 12th, report card distribution. March 13th, parent teacher conferences. No school for students. And the week everybody looks forward to March 16th through the 20th, spring break week. No school and district but district offices are open. The public portion of the next regular meeting the board of education will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10th, 2026 Kyle Administration building. Do we have a motion to adjurnn? >> Second. >> All in favor signify by saying I. Hi. >> Those opposed