001we'll call the meeting into order of the calonia Community Schools Board of Education regular meeting please stand for the pledge Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under indivisible withy andice for all secretary is here just in time to call the role r Garcia here brand here Collins here eich here here Morris here nich okay thank you item number four on the agenda is our student representative thank you for coming tonight hi so our student council is excited that the Spring Carnival is coming back this spring May 2nd um we will be finalizing well we finalized it today actually so Friday May 2nd but this event offers many different opportunities for CHS students in the calonia community we are hoping to incorporate
002local businesses in the Spring Carnival bring more awareness to the event we are working on partnering with the middle schoolers and intermediate students to bring them to CHS for a half day of activities that revolve around leadership and engagement and we are also going to partner with the ptso to help us plan an awesome teacher appreciation week at CHS and then our Calia High School mock trial team when the Oakland County reach and will be representing calonia in the State final tournament on Friday and Saturday this is the second year in a row calonia has sent a team to the ma trial state finals then broadcast journalism we have five students who are finalists for an award at the Michigan student broadcast Awards hosted by the Michigan Association of broadcasters and the awards lunch on
003is this Thursday in Lancing and the five students are Draven Reed Court Thompson Jo Noble Andrew Moore and Isaiah suuk and then our a few of our students have been involved in Van andle's student ambassador program and we are hosting an art for a cure silent auction downtown on Thursday raising money for Camp Parkinson's and cancer research we have raised approximately $7,000 already and are hopeful towards the outcome of the event finally our be nice is doing the stomp out the sigma 5K on May 17th we're hoping to get more people people from the school and Community involved too and that is it thank you great very much for your report okay we'll move on to public comment uh remind everyone that we uh go in order of cards received if you haven't received if
004you have a card and you wish to speak and you have not turned it in please do so at this time board recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express their views please limit your statement to 3 minutes participants shall direct all questions to the board and not to staff or other participants no person may address or question board members individually the board cannot accept public comment regarding Personnel issues all Personnel issues will be ref referred to the superintendent for comment or resolution remarks shall be made in respectful and professional manner the First on our list is James Ernest followed by David dle deag thank you thank you members of the board in a letter that I wrote to you on March 9ine
005and posted publicly on my blog I provided summaries of and links to findings that the active Public Health response to covid-19 in early 2020 probably saved tens of thousands of lives I also wrote that in 2020 there were mistakes and missteps both in substance and In Style Both by public health experts and by their political opponents and I wrote can we put that all behind us and move ahead responsibly and charitably I urged you to deny proposals to make a policy that you are not legally EMP Ed to make that would reject in advance mitigation measures that have not yet been proposed to a future epidemic that has not yet appeared and I urged you to reject proposals to spend money that this District does not have on an additional Law Firm whose Services it
006does not need others wish to urge you differently around 24 hours ago someone posted a note to a local Social Media Group with 787 members which included these words our school board has been working hard to put forth a reasonable anti-mask policy draft with the help of a constitutional Law Firm the conservatives on that board are now receiving emails from the Raging liberals of calonia and opposition rumor has it that a former and present left-wing board member are calling for the libs to pack the meeting tomorrow night this post was Anonymous the founder and moderator of this group and it's most frequent poster is Angela Ras I have two comments on this post one this post says raging liberals have been sending emails to conservative members of the board parsing this community into raging liberals
007on the one hand and conservatives on the other hand strikes me as deliberately divisive I hope you do not regard each other or members of this community as members of partisan camps to whom you do not owe respectful attention this post indicates secondly that the anti-masking policy proposed by your chair was drafted with the help of a constitutional Law Firm I would like to know whether your board chair will deny that his proposed policy was either drafted by Colman legal of Lancing or with Colman's help the appearance created by this post is that you are being urged to pass a cal and drafted policy that would expose this District to Legal liability while at the same time you are being urged to put Colman legal on retainer in order to handle the resulting litigation I
008know what I think of the moral character of those appearances depending on the choices you make overcoming days and weeks Others May in time wish to investigate their Legal character thank you thank you Mr ER next is David is it deagle deag that's right thank you sir and after Mr deagle it'll be Kristen Donalds H EST Ste board I'd like to thank you for giving this opportunity to speak with you tonight my name is David deagle I'd like to address similarly address those two topics that were discussed at last week's Committee of the whole first the related the potential policy related to Future masking uh mandates I I know this is a really hot topic issue um there's a a small but very vocal group of parents who've been concerned that their students were traumatized
009having to wear masks last year or or during the pandemic in the last couple of years further they argue that the masks didn't stop the virus and that it really should be a parents decision to choose whether or not the kids wear masks and I'd like to offer an additional perspective to this we know that masks were never meant to stop or eradicate the virus they were meant to slow the progression of the virus so that we don't overwhelm the the local Health Care environment and the masking initiatives worked they did what they were supposed to do in my evidence for that my wife had a medical incident that required her to be intubated during the the the Raging pandemic um while patients on the east side of the state and across the country were
010dying for lack of a ventilator the masking initiatives here slow the progression down enough that a ventilator was available for my wife when she needed it I'd like to assure you the trauma of seeing a loved one or knowing that your loved one is on a ventilator was significantly greater for me and for my boys than for having for for having the boys need to wear a mask seven to eight hours a day so I would ask that further I'd like to I'm thankful that the school board I'm thankful that the school chose to follow the District Health the the Health Department's recommendations at that time and I would ask that the board continue the approach of following the health department in the future not putting together a new policy that would potentially cause confusion
011and potentially other problems here in the district in the case of another future emergency secondly it's been discussed that to hire a constitutional Law Firm to address issues just like that the argument of whether or not we should mask considering the current push in Washington DC to eliminate the Department of Education and considering the Michigan House's recent Bill eliminating all discretionary funding in the state of Michigan it would be simply fiscally irresponsible for calonia schools to take on an additional Law Firm at this time I would entreat the board to I would enom the board to deny action to change or addition or add additional legal representation to the school at this time thank you thank you very much Mr deagle next is Kristen Donaldson with Carrie greville grev uh following up good evening [Music]
012all right I will start by saying I'm I I'm I'm aware of your time but I am a little over so if you can give me just some Grace for that I came before you this evening as a concerned parent regarding the educational future of not only my son but of other children with disabilities both within this community and across our nation also to provide um demonstration of what results look like when you remove the provisions that should be in place and enforce that protect our most vulnerable children my Daniel is now a 10th grade student at the high school with an IEP and is non-verbal uh for your review at a later time I have provided some notes and examples and highlighted a few things as um to show you why I am here
013this evening um just to read a sample of those things it says here that Daniel was adding five and six-digit whole numbers and regrouping with 70% accuracy Daniel has been practicing at adding money and using decimals and is able to add two-digit numbers Money numbers uh with decimals with a 87% accuracy and he is working on multiplication with his fourth grade class um and doing multiples of twos with 100% accuracy and double digits with a multiplication chart that was in the fourth grade in spite of this fact my student is presently being limited to an extremely low lowered level in expectation examples include assignments such as coloring coins tracing letters and adding single digit and double digit um addition and subtraction such as 1 plus 2 and 2 plus 4 um in high school while
014being forced to repeat goals year after year with no accountability in spite of numerous written changes to documents and many conversations there remains to be a lack of opportunity for growth and advancement for this particular student the past few years the district has yet to allow the student to advance Beyond where he has been placed or provide him an opportunity to even try stating that he has not shown the ability to do more in spite of many reports including those of their own that have that states otherwise I have found that the student continues to be marked lower than what he should be in both official records documents and assessments and he continues to be limited by the results of these lower assessments I was recently informed that my communication with my son's primary teacher
015was no longer and that my primary contact regarding my non-verbal son education is now in the hands of a district administrator one that does not work in the high school nor work with the students or my son as a parent that is being more and more removed from my child's education this is deeply concerning as we should know parent and teacher relationships help Drive the success of students and it is imperative for the best outcome especially for students with disabilities in closing I have exhaust exhausted the entire chain of command seeking resolve and I am here to shed light on such a matter as a con as a concerned parent and Advocate again not only for my child's future but for the future of all students who may be impacted if these things are kept
016hidden and we remain silent um it is a call for Action something more must be done and I am hoping and and and requesting some response in some way from uh the board and I if not tonight just a followup because we have received none thank you so much for your time and um excuse me something more must be done in support of all students and Educators being allowed to do their jobs and work alongside families to bring about the best results thank you so much for your time and I hope to hear from someone thank you thank you har gal is a great thank you and after Carrie is John Chris uh first I'd like to thank the board for giving having the opportunity to speak my name is car Gil been a parent
017and a volunteer in calonia for 15 years I'm very proud of our school district and how this community and the schools have progressed and advanced over these many years however there was two points brought up in the committee of the whole meeting last week that deeply concerned me particularly with the direction that this might take our community first the recommendation to hire a second law firm for their expertise on constitutional issues I find fiscally irresponsible especially when we already have a law firm that handles legal matters such as these when our school will undoubtedly be facing extreme funding cuts at both the state and federal level in the very near future a law firm focused on constitutional matters is an absolute waste of our taxpayers money the second Point brought up last week was a
018proposal for a new districtwide Mass policy that would supersede the Health Department's recommendations again I'm not sure why this is necessary since Health recommendations will change depending on the contagion and how it spreads but let's be honest these policies on the name of parental rights are never meant for all but only for those families that don't have any health issues as policy would favor one family with no health issues over the rights of the kindergarten teacher with lupus or over the third grader with severe asthma or the middle schooler that has a parent a home with cancer and as a family that's had to have their kids wear masks Way Beyond what anyone else is it's really hard and these so-called rights are only for those luckily enough not to have a disability or any
019severe health issues at home and if we want to look at an example of where parental rights to ignore the advice of all health professionals is an action we can look at West Texas where measles a completely a disease that can be eradicated there's over 300 cases right now they're spreading throughout the US and have now reached Michigan because of ignoring Health orders this is not the time nor is calonia the place to bring in these culture wars please focus on the real matters at hand and how we're going to keep our students and teachers supported when we know funding cuts are coming thank you thank you very much John and after John is Steve firestein good evening thanks for having me here this first time I've been in front of this board since 1978
020which may or may not have been for disciplinary reasons but anyway I just wanted to put my two cents in on what a waste of money it is to hire a constitutional Law Firm when we already have great representation and especially when it gets down to whether we wear mask or not if anyone here has been to the dentist or to the surgeon or anything else do you tell them not to wear a mask while they're working on you it just makes sense that we go along with our health department uh rules and our health department advice and during the pandemic there were actually three strains of regular old flu that we had been vaccinated against but three strains that went extinct because we were wearing masks so there is some good stuff that comes
021from it it isn't that big of a deal and I just don't want you to waste money on another Law Firm that's going to tell you that it's okay for if you don't have to wear a mask thank you thank you Mr Chrisman have Steve firin and Sylvia merphy follows Steve thank you um personally I would like to say that I have no intention or do not mean to disrespect anyone or offend anyone by what I will say um I want to say a few words about the proposed trail head parking lot on Main Street and keny Street um I know it's very early in the planning for that proposal uh but there are many questions that in my mind are unanswered and need to be answered I understand that the proposal is due to
022merchants in the village requesting more parking what is more parking is that one more space 10 more spaces 20 apparently it's 22 because that's what uh was discussed at the Village council meeting and the question is where did that number come from what is it based on unknown um a question I have is how many Village residents who are not Merchants have requested more parking unknown um as resident of the Village what benefit is there to me and to the other Village residents who are not merchants of having that parking lot what what's the benefit for me unknown um who will use this additional parking and when will they use it how often for how long unknown um is there more parking really needed um what evidence is there to support that the demand exceeds
023the parking available unknown if the parking lot is created it will be there for a long long time just as residents in the village come and go so will Merchants will there always be merchants in the village who have a desire or need for more for more parking unknown um another question I have is does the Village Council have an obligation to provide parking for merchants I don't know but I do know that the Village Council has an obligation to represent the village residents in the School District board has an obligation to represent the residents of the district um lastly while I'm running out of time at concerns of about safety whatever the configuration is for the parking lot and the trail users of the trail including students will be brought into close proximity with
024moving automobiles this can't be good thank you we have Sylvia Murphy and after Sylvia is Katie OB um my name is Sylvia Murphy uh 111 mil Avenue I live along the property line and this my property line has 15 spaces of parking along the whole property line obviously whoever Drew this diagram hates me um don't thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight and and thank you you all for serving on the school board and as elected officials you are good stewards of our taxpaying dollars and in that includes School properties the proposed parking lot at the Paul Henry trail head is a per tremendous waste of 530,000 taxpayer dollars it would destroy a beautiful quiet nature area would be the source of noise all day all night after the merchants have closed making our
025lives absolutely miserable of those of us who live along the trail and dramatically lowering our property value but most importantly this lot will be a constant threat to the safety of our children and why is that to build the lot means to clearcut six acres of mature trees along that trail head cover the area with asphalt and Border it with both sides with white plastic fence creating a hidden area which invites crime this hidden parking lot will attract our Ste teens to hang out drink buy and sell and do drugs a hidden parking lot makes it easy for a wouldbe predator to wait in their car until an unsuspected child on their cell phone not paying attention is able to grab the child throw them in their car and drive off undetected that's a terrifying
026thought but we don't want that to happen happened to anyone's child here in calonia last Monday night at the Town council meeting concerning this proposed parking lot 49 came out only four were for the lot and they were all Merchants the 45 residents who opposed had the biggest concern was for their children's safety we offered suggestions to the council and Merchants repaint the lines on Main Street make Main Street one way put lines on Lake Street and em and so people know that this is a legal parking place and they can park there all employees of businesses park on the side streets and they should be advised by their um employers to do so to free up those spots for their customers the dance company which causes a lot of chaos on Main Street after
0274 um parents stopped traffic and to pick up pick up and drop off their children this should they should have a designated parking uh drop off in the back just like schools do so that kids uh can get out safely and then that would encourage parents to um park in the back end in the side streets um I'm on of time but I I thank you for your time thank you very much elbow and Jen hot thank you thank you Jen good evening I would like to begin by expressing my strong support for the proposed policy to enhance security standards for Board of Education trustees it is mandated that any adult who volunteers with students in our schools under goes a thorough background check in addition teachers and staff members not only complete background checks
028but are also fingerprinted giving the significant responsibility in trusted to our Board of Education trustees who have access to multiple school buildings and thousands of children throughout the school year I believe they should be held to the same if not higher security standards now that I've addressed the first policy I'd like to shift our Focus to the two remaining policies that were discussed on Wednesday evening I believe we all know someone whose life has been profoundly impacted by modern medicine their knowledge or professionals knowledge and dedication are vital to the progress and well-being of our society in fact we all possess specialized knowledge within our own professions I am confident that each of you is highly skilled and well informed in your own respective Fields just as I would never ask a banker to perform
029cataract surgery on my own daughter I would not expect individuals without a medical background to make informed decisions on health related matters for myself or for my family we are all entitled to our own individual beliefs and opinions We can question and even protest policies laws and mandates that we disagree with that is the beauty of our democracy and our right to express those views is fundamental however it is essential to remember that school boards are not equipped with the medical expertise required to make sweeping decisions that affect thousands of students and staff these decisions are best left to medical professionals with regard to the policy language discussing discussing the hiring of additional lawyers from what I've gathered our district has access to several attorneys who are specialized in constitutional law based on my preliminary
030research it appears that we have expended several hundred thousands of dollars in legal fees over the past few years alone while I recognize that legal representation and Associated fees are an absolute necessary component of a school district's budget I concerned about the continued engagement of additional law firms which would further increase the district's financial burden I believe this may be a fiscally imprudent decision potentially compromising the resources available for our district and and our students the focus on these past issues is overshadowing the many critical challenges facing our district and public education today for instance there's a national shortage of qualified teachers particularly in essential areas like special education this directly impacts our student outcomes and our school operations what steps are we taking to address this shortage how are we adapting to the evolving
031needs of our students particularly in light of the challenges presented by shifting student behaviors and the aftermath of the pandemic additionally are we examining data from our own schools that have successfully reduced class sizes and seen significant improvements improvements in academic performance I'm almost done how are we preparing for potential funding changes in the coming years rather than revisiting past issues I urge you to focus on proactively addressing the pressing challenges currently facing our Public Schools our mission in calonia is to empower and equip all individuals to achieve their best by ensuring the highest quality of educational experience I implore you to consider this Vision as we navigate the complexities of Education today and into the future thank you for your time and consideration you're not all getting my good side I apologize foll excuse
032me one moment following uh Jen is Jenna wima first of all I would like to thank all of you although we may not agree on many things I do appreciate the time that it takes to be a board member I sent an email to the board last night back in the good old days you would have to put in a effort into a foyer request to get it but apparently things are a little different now although I understand no laws have been broken the lack of trust isn't a good look just this morning there were posts on social media that suggest parent email sent to board members have been shared with others to widen the Divide of our current political climate one post read our school board has been working hard to put forth reasonable
033mask P policy draft the conservatives on the board are now receiving emails from the Raging liberals of calonia in opposition we have the majority on the board and in this community so let's make sure our voices are heard another States I'm given to understand the board has been receiving harassing and obnoxious emails from opposing liberals shocker please remember the liberal mandate is the way is that they know what's better for your children than you do stand in their way our role here as board members and community members is not to let these divisive tactics undermine the important work we need to do for our students and not rehash past debates our job is to move forward not stand in their way the only ones that this kind of behavior hurts is our kids we are
034here to work together on things that actually improve our schools things like enhancing academic achievement expanding Mental Health Resources supporting teacher retention and ensuring student safety these are the issues that deserve our time attention and energy I urge this board and all of us as a community to rise above the political noise and performative policies let's not let distractions get in the way of the work we need to do what if calonia works together on both sides of the Divide to set an example that other districts would be jealous of at the end of the day our students deserve better and we are the ones who must make sure they get [Music] itma and following you is Lynn be thank you my name is Jenna wima I live at 112 West Main Street I'm also
035here to talk about the proposed parking lot my house is this small gray house right next to the proposed lot here would you like to see that I'm here tonight to urge this board to stop allowing the village to use school-owned land at Kinsey and Maine for a parking lot that puts students at risk devalues homes and was pushed forward without public transparency this parking lot is is a safety hazard for students this lot will be built along the Paul Henry Trail a primary route used by countless students walking downtown and I see them every single day right out of my my window I talk to them outside they're coming down Maine they're coming down the trail families elderly residents are also using this plot or this Trail as well as my own children the
036proposed design creates a hidden unmonitored space increasing the risk of crime and loitering and unsa situations it also increases traffic on Main Street where students cross daily speed as we know is already an issue on Main Street and adding an entrance here will make it worse according to FBI statistics 25% of all violent crimes occurs in a parking lot why is this board approving a project that makes students less safe on the land that you own that we own this project lacked trans lacked public awareness and transp guy at the Village meeting last week residents packed the room an overwhelmingly M majority opposed this project the only supporters were Merchants who wanted more parking even though this lot is far from their businesses residents were never informed that the school land was being given to
037the Village there was no open discussion no public vote and no process for taxpayer input prior to the initial Grant application which was denied why was the community not properly informed where is the accountability to taxpayers this lot devalues our homes we chose to live in here in in calonia for its small town feel and the residential character this lot will bring more traffic and congestion in a quiet neighborhood constant noise from cars and late night activity bright Commercial Lighting shining into our homes at all hours into my bedroom I have personally invested thousands of dollars on improving my home as everybody has probably seen on Main Street this project lowers property values while benefiting only a handful of businesses why is the board prioritizing Merchant parking over the residents who actually live here the
038village is misusing a DNR Grant on school property the village is applying for a DNR passport Grant which is meant for trail head improvements and public Recreation yet the village has admitted this lot's intent is not for trail users yet it's for merchants but is Being Framed as such how is it ethical to allow school property to be used for a project that misleads the public about its funding and does not benefit students I'm almost done so my final demand to you board you have the responsibility to protect students and serve this community not prioritize its relationship with the village at the expense of taxpayers and residents please stop this project before it endanger students please stop this project before public funds are misused on school land and please stop this project before homeowners lose
039value in their properties thank you ly be and following Lyn is Maryann Timmer hello board thank you for allowing us to speak tonight and I'm just going to be probably a little bit unpopular on the trail subject I actually am a business owner in the village of calonia 36 years and I do agree that parking is the issue however this is just an idea it has not gone forward any more than the drawing stage and it would be for the trail not necessarily for us however it would free up some parking spaces that are being used for the trail so I too was looking at statistics and I agree the FBI does say that parking lots can have high crime but at least the statistics that I found were in um parking lots in buildings
040like the leveled parking lots so actually 36% of prime goes down when there's more lighting and right now this is like our Trail at night so during the day I'm sure it's fine but there is like quite a bit of folage where somebody could perhaps hide and jump out so I feel like with students going back and forth from football games having something lit would definitely be much better so I Look to what are other community is doing and because this is not on your agenda tonight I've got copies of all the other areas but but we are the only one that doesn't have any parking for our Trail we do have two spots on the street where people could unload but then they simply have to go across traffic or into traffic to get
041to the trail so I looked at all the other communities I'm like okay so if we're the only ones without Trail HUD parking what is everybody else doing Middleville has a parking lot at the trail head with 63 spaces um M6 has 18 Spaces by M6 in division uh Dutton has 20 spaces next to the school parking lot and along their Trail Byron Center has multiple accesses to the trail they do I looked at simply at the Village like where where we're located and they have 15 on one side with two on the other along with some handicap parking so at the end of the day I think understandably I see both sides but I feel like as a growing Community we need to always look at what can we do to better our community
042access for everybody especially with the fact that this head runs to the schools so if we have a good design keeping all the homeowners in mind I feel like it would actually create a safer space and add just a advantage to our community because our community is growing The Village has grown by the last census 5% in the last couple years Cog Township has grown by 9% and I know everywhere you drive you see more houses going in so it's going to continue to grow so I hope that we can just come to some solutions that are at the benefit of everybody body moving forward thankk you thank you Maryann Timmer and after Maryann is laures Williams I have to say happy St Patrick's Day nobody said that yet lighting up the load here my
043name is maryan Timmer and I live in uh calonia I've been out here 30 years and I participated in the District in some level for 25 years including six years on the calonia school board so I thank you I know I've sat in your seat I know what it's like to to listen and I appreciate you listening um I hadn't even planned to come tonight but when I learned about um this vote that perhaps would take um monetary resources that really are needed for our students especially our students in the special ed Department when I heard this mom speak tonight about um the lack of services she feels she's receiving for her student it it just reinforced in me the the fact that we really need to prepare and have strategies for the loss of
044federal and state dollars applicable to special education dollars and even kids that come to school because they're hungry and they don't get something to eat at home as simple as that so I hope that you'll really take a big look at the big picture this isn't a popularity contest I'm not here representing anybody except my own heart and the fact that I love calonia schools I had a son that had an IEP I when I served on the school board we never had a parent come before us that said they were not getting the services This concerns me so I hope you're listening tonight and I hope that you will take to heart exactly what these dollars should be used for and they should not be used for hiring another Law Firm or coming to
045an argument with some Health Department policy that's trying to protect our community thank you Williams and after oress is Drew well first thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to speak with you all I had the opportunity to also discuss my opinion regarding a couple of the policies regarding masks and retaining attorneys that we already don't need um last week but I want to just talk about something a little bit different that did come up last week but we didn't really get a chance to to talk a whole lot about so as we look forward to the future of our district I'm sure that the members of this board would agree that it's critical to hold our leadership to the highest possible standards the decisions made by this board impact thousands of students
046teachers and families and with that responsibility comes the need for transparency accountability and Trust one key step in reinforcing that trust would be implementing a policy suggested last Wednesday that would require all School B board members to submit a background check I've worked in education or I worked in education for over a decade throughout the United States and I've never come across this situation before where this wasn't the standard I'm not saying that doesn't exist anywhere that this is the only case but it's definitely not something I've ever encountered uh personally so we already require background checks from our teachers administrators and even parent volunteers so why wouldn't we hold our board members to the same standard this is about ensuring that those in positions of power meet a baseline level of accountability just as
047we expect from everyone else within our schools at a time when public education is facing major challenges especially with discussions at the federal level about dismantling the US Department of Education and shifting more control to local districts we need strong ethical leadership now more than ever if funding structures uh and educational oversight change we must be prepared to navigate those shifts in a way that prioritizes students success that begins with the school board that the community can trust let's be proactive in strengthening our District's leadership and setting an example for others to follow a background check policy is a simple Common Sense step forward toward ensuring that we all are that we are leading with Integrity thank you [Applause] thank you drew and after Drew is Nancy Benfield good evening my name is Drew I've
048been a Community member for three years tomorrow officially um so I appreciate you guys letting me have a chance to talk um I'm here because I'm disappointed you guys for the I've been here three years this is like the fifth time I've heard about asking for more taxpayer dollars for me to support policies that are unnecessary and serve no real purpose your purpose should be supporting our students education the district constantly talks about being fiscally responsible when asking taxpayers for money yet here we are hiring a law firm known for engaging in costly legal battles if there's extra money to spend why isn't it going towards teacher support academic programs or classroom resources why isn't it being used to improve our student outcomes instead we're talking about reactionary policies and legal fees that serve no
049educational benefit and it's not just money being resources being wasted its time every minute we're sitting here talking about this debating in the community in the community we're creating unnecessary hypothetical legal fights is a minute stolen from real issues that impact students teachers and families we should all be talking about improving academic performance to addressing teacher teacher shortages supporting student mental health and ensuring our schools have resources that they need to succeed but instead this board continues to hold meetings on politically motivated distractions that do absolutely nothing to help our schools if it's board truly cares about our students it will stop chasing political battles and start focusing on what actually improves our schools wasting public funds and board meeting time on unnecessary fights and performative policies is irresponsible and dishonest to taxpayers who fund
050this District stop wasting time and resources and get back to the work of running a school district not a sideshow thank you thank you ncy Benfield and after Nancy is Jason sated hi I saw you last week thank you for letting me speak again um I live in calonia I have seven grandchildren that go to calonia schools and I'm a retired teacher so I spent a lot of time both in the classroom and also I served eight years on our local school board so i' I've been in your spot I know what that's like um I want to start with my concern about the background checks um I I was honestly very surprised to hear that you didn't have them and I'm just assuming that it's probably an oversight never came up didn't think about
051it you know but I hope to see in the future that you take action and take action quickly to to remedy this because when we ask a volunteer who comes for a single day to have a background check then we should be having this same for our Schoolboard members that are in the school throughout the year now last week the comment was made that the majority of the board was in favor of a constitutional lawyer being hired and that really concerns me I don't know who the majority was only one person spoke but obviously it's a big concern and we do not have the money we do not have the money to spend on an extra Law Firm that we don't need right now we are facing Cuts coming both from the federal government and
052from the state government we need to educate our kids and for that we need every scent that we have so I hope that that point that is dropped and there is no concern about looking for a constitutional lawyer in the future and the third point is masks how do we tell our kids we need they need to follow rules when we put in policy we are not going to follow the rules it is not your job to make have a mask policy that's the health department okay you can just wash your hands of it and say nope that's not what we're going to do because that's not our job and so if you expect students to follow rules you need to do the same thing and not make a commitment that you're saying in the
053future we promise we will not obey the health department because that is not a good look so thank you very much and thank you for the work so this is what it looks like to stand on this side um this is this is a little different um all right so uh most of you know me Jason S former board member Community member a couple of kids in the district hi and thank you all for being here and listening uh has there ever been a more divisive word one not born out of racism than the word mask uh we could have all of the various studies that prove masks don't work prove that they do work and the community will remain divided I argue this is not a debate that should be had here in this
054room and at the board table if you want to debate the effectiveness of masks we have the health department if you want to debate whether or not the health department can mandate masks and and enforce them call your state representative have them change the law to remove that power from the health department let's talk a little bit about history despite what was said on Wednesday we did have a board member propos a similar mask policy back in August of 2021 the board took this seriously we s multiple legal opinions we had a zoom call with the attorney and the board member included the legal consensus was clear follow the Mandate the consequences were C were clear potential loss of insurance coverage exposure to negligence lawsuits loss of indemnification the health department closed the buildings that
055violated the health mandate back then we had business owners in our community they followed the mandates in their own business practices and they understood those consequences they asked us as a school to violate the health department mandates and fight on their behalf these same people want us to continue the truth is the district already has a policy in place policy number 8450 it was in place before covid still in place clearly states the board shall follow All State statutes and Health Department regulations which pertain to immunization and other means for controlling the spread of casual contact communicable diseases this policy exists for the health and safety of students staff and the community so also worth mentioning that the district and the board I served on did not ever require masks unless it was mandated when
056the when the health department said we we recommended them but we don't require them we didn't require them on our students some are pushing this under the guise of parental rights but where do we draw the line as the parent of teenage daughters who are statistically have a one in6 chance of being sexually assaulted do I let them carry Pepper Sprite into school is that my parental right should in our farming Community should kids have the ability to carry pocket knives into school does the dress code infringe on parents rights should a family that can't afford Child Care send their kid to school with lice because they can't afford it parental rights are important make no mistake but so is public safety board members may want to ask which parts of this proposed policy are
057subject to collective bargaining which parts might violate existing contracts almost done and also why now it's an interesting time to choose the site the board should be focused on what truly matters the millage vote and the dire consequences if it fails contract negotiations with the ca which are critical to the district's future the financial reality of pulling from fund balance every year the potential elimination of the Department of Education and the funding that comes with it if I were a board member I wouldn't be asking about masks I'd be asking what do we do if the millage fails how do we support our teachers so they can provide high quality education for our kids how can we keep pulling how long can we keep pulling money from our fund balance are we prepared to lose
058funding if Department of Education closes these are pressing and early urgent urgent challenges ahead and instead of addressing them the board chose to debate a policy to address something that happened 5 years ago it's time to move forward and it's time to focus on what actually matters thank you move on to item number six consent agenda there isn't a addendum to the agenda um which was handed to you earlier just want to cover so make sure you understand so it makes sense the in the in the uh item number action items number eight in the motion the amount is not 1213 it's 81 985 so whoever makes that motion if there is one please note that in in in your motion so is there a support for consent agenda February 24 regular minutes March 12
059Committee of a whole minutes February 2025 pbls March 2025 Personnel reports I move that the board approve the consent agenda as presented second is there any discussion prior to vote see none please Garcia yes brand yes Collins yes eich yes con yes Morris yes Nichols yes and so the agenda is passed on to item 7 superintendent report 2025 26 preliminary budget report so tonight is is um when we're going to take our first look at our preliminary budget for next year um we did talk about this um in detail at our last week's committee meeting um so tonight is just going to be more of a highlevel um look at this this will be posted on our website and included in this is the detailed document that we reviewed last week um so that's also
060going to be included if anyone is interested so with this budget we're looking at Key assumptions so at this time um what we know is we have the governor's budget proposal that's been put out um the state or the Senate and the house still has to work through theirs and we have to work through the detail of those so at this time we are using the governor proposed um 392 per student um Foundation increase and for calonia that equates to 1.9 million we're also assuming um with that is enrollment and so looking at our enrollment right now we're assuming that our enrollment will remain flat and then um with the foundation increase there's always categorical line items that are part of the budget and so sometimes those don't get spoken of as much but with
061this there's a big impact um on the mier's retirement side So currently this this fiscal year we're receiving um a line item for re reimbursement and that in the proposal is eliminated for next year and that has a 364 per student um impact and so that is 1.8 million to the negative um that we' receive um on the revenue side so that is looking of what the assumptions are on the revenue side that are in this budget the key assumptions on the expenditure side so the bulk of our expenditures are in Staffing and so this includes current staff levels um same programming um and with those staff each going up a step in their contract so our support staff group contracts um have received and are in place and so those the percentage increases are
062also included our teachers group our administrator group and our transportation group their contracts are ending this year and so we'll be um working on negotiating with each of these groups so while steps I do have included I do not have any percentage increases on the salary scale included in this on the insurance side we're looking at about a net 5% increase um and that's based on what employees chose at the open enrollment time of this January um and it's also looking at potential um there's legislation pending but potential uh District cap increases on the ancillary benefit side with our dental vision life and LTD I'm assuming that right now is going to be a 0% increase on the expenditure side as well with miers our retirement rate that is actually seeing a 1.45% savings so
063with that that is a savings of about $100 per student and that equates to about 500,000 in savings so big picture with those key assumptions the left column on here where we're looking just primarily at total revenues total expenditures the left column is our actual fiscal year ended last year numbers the second column is the current year that we're working from the December amended budget and then the third column is that preliminary look at next year's budget and then the change on the bar rate so in that third column we are looking at bringing in 70.3 million in Revenue 71.7 million in expense so that would be a 1.4 million shortfall um and so that would end at a 9.3 um fund balance just a couple things to remember our December amended budget is still
064a projection um we'll bring another budget amendment to the board in June I do anticipate that that will be improved and then we'll have our audited numbers that will come in the fall um so at fall that will actually set the new fund balance so right now this is based on our December amended are there any questions questions s that defent number is likely to narrow as we get closer to yes I do anticipate that to be an improved situation thank you very much item 7B upcoming textbook adoption good evening just a quick reminder that we are adding three new courses at the high school for next year AP economics both macro and Micro AP geography and foric science so next uh Committee of the whole meeting in April those materials will be at that
065time by that time selected um and they will then be available for public review for 30 days and then they will come before the board in the May meeting for uh adoption thank you I have a question no when when do we expect to see the the text books available for review so the teachers are currently reviewing three textbooks for um AP macro micro they have already made a selection for forensic science and they have already made a selection for the AP geography so once they have made the selection for AP macro micro then we will have have those materials available so as early as next month if we're yes okay yes are there any other questions yeah I have a question again being new to the board I don't know all the protocols and
066all the rules um does the board get to see the materials in advance so that we have might talking into this thing in advance so that we can see what's being proposed before the actual selection is made like is that is that a possibility or how does that work so the board does not actually select the materials they approve or deny the selection that is made by the teaching staff so once the materials are selected then there is a rationale provided to you all um as to why different materials were selected and then you would have access to those materials to be able to review as well okay and is that with in the same 30 days that the public is seeing that yes okay um I I did ask this question I don't know
067to who um is there certain business hours that we're able to go in and see that can we make arrangements if we're working to go in and see the materials after hours like how does that all work sure so the materials are available during normal business hours um but if for some reason uh a Community member or any of you as board members uh would not be able to make it during that time then we would make arrangements for you to come in outside of business hours okay thank you any other questions fors thank you 7 C Committee of a whole date conflicts May and July yeah so we uh discussed this a little bit last week and uh in particular uh right now we need to be taking a look at May and um
068didn't hear a clear resolution on that uh last week so the sooner that we can get that on the schedule I think the better for everyone so I just thought I would Circle it back around uh tonight and see if we can resolve on that again the conflict there at for our currently scheduled May committee the whole date is the senior night uh is also that same night and I know there are a lot of you as well as myself would like to be at that so um we need to look for a different date so we had thrown some different things out there and looking to see if we have any other progress on that at this point or we keep working on I think we gave the excuse me the option for the
06913th or the 12th is that right yes that's what we had been talking about the 12th or the 13th were two options that were there we just hadn't kind of landed I'm good with it if everybody else is Ian I'm good either day I still don't soccer practice time so people can do whatever and then I'll try to work around the best I know I can make either date is there a date better or worse for each um I mean I maybe prefer Tuesday but I'm F either way you guys know I have t class on [Laughter] Tuesdays I can make either one work preference for Monday but either way is good sorry it's a long running joke community members take a T CH I can do either one too so I know that's okay
070so it kind of sounds to me like Tuesday's probably going to be the better day either one Monday or Tuesday so are you okay with that sure I'll make it all right for us Tuesday the 13th it is thank you and then just a reminder we still need to take a look at July but we have a little more time there so maybe we'll return to that um at our committee the whole in April and then beyond that uh for other items just a couple of uh things to uh let you know of and invite the community so uh we are in the midst of uh talking about our non-homestead millage election that's coming up on Tuesday May the 6th and there will be several opportunities available for uh the community to engage in a
071conversation about that um so tomorrow at uh 6:00 pm uh at the new Cal Community Center in the community resource center room um I'll be there doing an overview of that and prepare to answer questions that the community might have on that issue uh same goes for Wednesday the 26th and that will be at 12:30 and that will be right in this room and then on Friday the 28th again at and that will be at 900 a.m. again over at the Cal Community Center we also have uh time when we'll be uh talking about this with our seniors and that's on the 26th uh Wednesday the 26th at 10:30 a.m. over at the community center as well and then we have a couple of other uh opportunities for uh the chamber or other business uh
072owners who might like to um ask additional questions as well so those are things that are on the list right now we have some other things coming up uh that we're talking about as well but um we just invite the community to come out and learn more about uh that proposal as well there is information also uh on the website and um we'll keep adding to that as well there any questions for sorry I don't want everyone to hear this hacking cough I have is there any questions for Mr wheel drier thank you moving on to action items number eight technology Network switches good evening everyone I'm here on behalf of Mr Bine and uh we are asking the board to approve the purchase of additional Network switches in the amount of $81,900 from our
0732020 and 23 bond funds um these switches will be used at several different facilities within the district um one being CIA Elementary new Dutton Elementary our Early Childhood Center emmans Lake and Paris Ridge Elementary and those buildings specifically those additional switches will allow our av or audio visual upgrades to run and U work like they should with our Network and for uh the high school north campus is for an upgrade to our paging system so um those uh those are the purpos for that and setal Technologies is the company we would like to go with in terms of making that purchase with those bond funds and they were the low bidder they were the low bidder yes any questions for for Daryl thank you just a reminder if there is a motion for this the
074the number is 8198 8 5 versus that which is listed in the agenda is there a motion I move that the board purchase network switch Hardware from Sentinel Technologies Incorporated for 81,9 second we did talk about this on Wednesday is there any further discussion questions at the the board we have see none M secretary please call eich yes Collins yes Randal yes col yes Nichols yes bar Garcia yes Morris yes b elementary Furniture Pack Mr h no new additional information from Wednesday night's discussion and last month's introduction of this uh just if there were any questions I think we asked this last week but this has all been gone over with like Mr Beach and teachers right they' reviewed stuff yes this has been very involved with Mr V be and his staff um as
075well as just The Architects and operations everybody I'm happy to make a motion um but I was just going to say you know reviewing the materials I noticed that there was a um what appear appeared to me to be an eye for furniture that would be friendly for all of our students um including those with uh you know different abilities and ability to move in different ways and I was just really grateful for that so thank you all for having an eye for that first our representative from Tower pinkster will be glad to hear that you recognize that she's uh she's definitely taken a a definite interest in the community for for Dutton awesome any other questions or comments see n Madam Secretary please call the RO I didn't make a motion yet I'm sorry
076said I'd be excited to though um I moved that the board approved the district to enter into purchase agreements with the following vendors for the supply and installation of furniture at the new Dutton Elementary School with Custer furniture for 3 uh 69,4 766 with dwel furniture for $277,700 and2 and with school specialty for $788 19720 support Second any further discussion questions comments see none no Madam Secretary you may call the RO Collins yes eich yes con yes brandow yes bber Garcia yes Nicholls yes Morris yes motion carries on 8C calonia Elementary abatement I would only add um to the discussion of this from last month and last or last week um that there must be a problem with the number 12130 uh because this number is also wrong in the motion uh the proper number
077here should be 112,500 old numbers moving in the proper direction down I apologize for that error on the report unless there's objection please amend the motion to 112 400 for the calonia abatement for whoever makes it any further questions I move that the board enter into contract with Total Environmental Services for $12,400 for the abatement of asbest containing materials at C Elementary second any further discussion see none please call the RO River Garcia yes Nicholls yes Collins yes eich yes con yes brandell yes Morris yes statement motion carries thank you Mr H you and item nine before before we move on I have a question um since last week I brought up that security policy and it didn't seem like we had any issues with it I was wondering because it doesn't show up on
078the agenda are we going to make an an action item or a discussion item or what's the plan we just learned about it just before the meeting so we haven't we hadn't planned on having it on the agenda I'm sure we will in April for sure okay I was just curious because typically when it's a discussion item if it's a policy we would do a first reading first right isn't it two readings and then it goes into policy well I I think when when we're creating policy we probably need to take our time with it and and give it a good good look over receive feedback from trustees and uh and our superintendent as well anything else no that's fine with me in addition to that I um would appreciate if we could see that
079proposed policy in final language that we would then send to our attorneys for review um because usually we have policy that we review for a first reading that's in form that has already been approved by our legal council so I think that's in my mind that was our next step and so um I I would like to make sure before our first reading that we have that review conducted as well this is good discussion uh I would just think we should follow our agenda here and we can talk about this in board comments portion U I think we need to take care of number nine next year and we get more conversation on that thank you item nine discussion items anticipated board considerations a district Chromebook purchase um last week we began the initial discussion
080about purchasing Chromebooks um as you're aware we are a one toone District so that means every one of our kiddos uses a computer or Chromebook um for their daily use um older students 7th through 12th grade take those home on a regular basis on a daily basis I should say our younger Learners have uh them in carts available to the class in the classrooms um last week we had the initial discussion tonight is just another follow-up discussion to see if there's any questions that have developed since then but uh this is an anticipated board vote in April but uh we'll discuss it again on April 16th but uh our previous practice has been to try to keep up with rotating our inventory with 20% new Chromebooks on a yearly basis and those Chrome books do
081see wear and tear as they're taken home or they're taken out of the carts in the classrooms so they really need to have that refresh cycle so we can make sure our kids have the quality computers that they're getting to take home with them um some we have for spare parts in the back so we'll supplement our inventory for that a lot of times we'll take a a key off or fix them but those are the types of things we do with any additional pieces with that um we usually get about four or five years out of the life of a Chromebook um which is kind pretty much standard um and where we purchase these from is called remsey it is a Statewide Cooperative that allows us to really really use aggressive um purchasing power
082because there's many many different groups within the state that utilizes um remsey you have your um government Al agencies schools um any type of nonprofit so we can come together and get a much better pricing for these uh um materials and we don't have the price today so what happens with that remsey does all the bid work for us and then they will actually make a final determination of who wins that bid so we would have the actual cost of the machines on uh April 16th for you to review so any questions any questions do you I know this is not exactly your department but we've had we've had uh late delivery in the past um is there anyone in administration that knows that that is caught up and that we're able to get them
083in a timely manner um hopefully we'll have that answer for you in April I do not know that right now all right haven't heard anything about that yet doesn't mean there's not a shipping delay but we'll verify that thank you J thanks next item 9B callex lease all right uh callex lease was also discussed uh on Wednesday night and just as a quick followup I was able to touch base uh with Mr Clement from the cyssa and so question have been raised about uh when we would be collecting the rents and so on so that would be as presented in that lease on January 1st but the very first one would be upon uh the board approval and signing of uh that leas so that would be again expected next month on the 21st so
084that would be the active date of that any other questions that come up since see none we'll move to board member comments is there any comments from board members see none moving on to motion to adjourn I motion second all those in favor those oppos we are