001all right good evening everyone there's a couple more chairs behind that board over there if there's people who want that okay cool all right good evening everyone this meeting is a meeting of the Board of Education and public for the purpose of conducting the school district business and it's not to be considered a public commity meeting there is time for public participation during the meeting as indicated on the agenda and upon request to the superintendent the district shall make reasonable accommodation for a person with disabilities to be able to participate in this meeting I do want to just mention this is a special meeting tonight we have a shortened agenda so I assume everyone's here for public participation and that will be um right away first we are going to do a r call just
002to see who is here okay trusty here vice president oh here shaking it up I know president BR here here trusty SAA here and then Ryan Arnold is not here any your okay um can we have a motion about the agenda please um actually I will move to amend the agenda to add an additional close session so that'll be in the third close session to discuss a legal um a discussion on legal advice um but otherwise it would to with that am do I have a second okay we have a motion and a second all those in favor to approve the agenda as amended with an additional close session say I I I any impos okay and we will move right to public participation um each Speer each speaker is allotted a maximum of five
003minutes for a total of approximately 30 minutes un L otherwise notified at this point in the meeting those interested in making a public comment will be asked to raise their hands so the time may be divided imately each speaker will be asked to announce their name and District of residents and indicate if they represent any organization or agency no person may speak more than once on the same subject during a single meeting nor yield their time to another speaker the board does not please note that the board does not respond to comments during the meeting those wishing to receive a personal response from the board or the superintendent must complete a public comment form available at the meeting entrance and on our website so that we have your contact information can I just get a
004sense of how many people want to speak tonight okay all right um we will stick to the five minute uh limit then um and we will have a phone timer going so um would anyone like to start are you g okay you need this now oh that would be great you need to okay hello everybody um I just want to give you a little bit of my background so you can know where my insights are coming from as I speak can you I'm sorry can you start with just your name District of residence okay yeah my name is Chrissy Taylor and I'm from Dexter and um I have a PhD in educational leadership and I've taught for 15 years and I've been a School administrator for 10 years I've been a public school board member
005just like you guys for three years and I'm certified in masb board member certified by the state as a superintendent and title n coordinator certified by trong I'm a mother of four boys my oldest two were part of the winningest Teem IND Dexter history Reeves was the starting QB and Davis was the starting outside linebacker God DRS my two youngest are uh freshman and eth grader here at Dexter we have found a way to win in every everywhere we go I come to this meeting tonight to encourage you as um as board members because I've been in your seats before um that there's always two sides of every story when I sat in your seat as a board member 10 years ago um there was a mother that came in just like myself I've never
006been on the side I've only been on your side so feels really weird on this side um and the people who are going to come speak in a little bit um there was a mother that came in with tears is rolling down her face um her kid got his first two teeth napped out and I had no idea who she was she was suing the school for her kids two front teeth being knocked out um and when she came in crying I was like what is happening I have no idea um what's going on here um there was an email that was from her and I was directed um not to look at it and not to respond to it she came in and pointed to each of us on that day saying shame on
007you shame on you shame on you shame on you and I and I rode home and I was like just super embarrassed because I had no idea what was going on um and I'll never forget that board meeting and the look on that mother's face why didn't I do more why didn't I hear both sides of the story then I got my first letter to my own home from a lawyer with my name on it then I paid attention that was the last time I allowed anyone to tell me who or who not to talk to everyone gets to make their own decision especially when elected by people in their Community as a board member we started questioning several things it allowed us to really ask what was going on and find out more of
008each side of the story Katherine kma has been an intrical part of emailing my boys notes of encouragement through District games regionals and state um semifinal games several teachers did this to both my boys Reeves and Davis Katherine first emailed me to ask my permission that she could write my kids I can send you any of those emails if you'd like to see that because of again there's two sides of every story as an administrator I looked through the lens of growth for my teachers was Mrs kozma given a verbal warning was she given a written warning what about a growth plan I've walked beside many teachers as a 10-year administrator I always want the best for my teachers to succeed just recently I was offered an associate superintendent position at a school double the
009size of Dexter the school was up north and I didn't want to move our voice yet again because they've moved three different districts because of work we wanted to stay in Dexter because the amazing teachers like Katherine kma and the amazing communi surrounded in this area who let love and care for our children I encourage each of you to ask both sides of this story Love Never Fails thank you thank you my name is Jenna Cooper and I'm coming before you tonight as a parent of younger children in this district and also a clinical social worker and therapist in the community I know the value of safety empowerment encouragement and consistency and these are all at the core of Mrs kma's character and teaching last summer my kids both had the privilege of being coached
010by Mrs kma in the reckoned basketball gamp the impact her positive encouraging words had on my kids and the level of organization and content she provided far exceeded our expectations the written report that each child brought home at the end of Camp will forever be treasured she clearly went above and beyond I can only imagine how detailed her lesson plans must be in her classes I'm sure it wasn't easy for her to give up a week of her summer break with her family to run this camp but she did and our children were blessed by it I'm also sure it wasn't easy for Mrs kosma to go into school early two days a week to learn the iron dread program and to attend DCA meetings I can't imagine taking consistent time to do that with
011three young kids at home but she did because it was important for her as an educator and as a support to her students again another way she showed consistency dedication growth and encouragement sending written communication must have also been very time consuming but something consistent with her character to help in any way she can to inspire students and athletes as a therapist I know kids need support consistency and encouragement these things directly impact the mental health of our kids in my role I've worked with a lot of kids that struggle with getting these things and with adjusting problems in their learning environment I've had Mrs kma's name mentioned not as a problem but as a safe person a trustworthy person and someone who truly cares about her job and her class when students have this
012awareness you know she's doing what should be making Administration proud one of my biggest concerns is the impact this case has had on students and the community that supports appreciates and is very proud of the work that Mrs kma has done a lot of the talking that's been going on doesn't seem to add up a lot of people have lost sleep and have had increased anxiety over this as a therapist with a trauma speci y I felt sick hearing from parents that Mrs kosmo was removed from her class in front of students and escorted out of the building to have a well-respected ethical person that kids look up to removed in front of them is unacceptable especially with the increase in amount of students right now that do not feel safe even going to school
013I also wish you would have considered that there are a lot of children in this County that have been traumatized from being taken from their families and trusted adults and that seeing that and being exposed to this at school could have been very triggering and the last thing these kids deserve this is a person who was once a student in this district and excelled her ethical kind heart hasn't changed in decades and you have Educators now that remember her as a student and know her true character she doesn't have a hurtful bone in her body yet you placed her negatively in the spotlight this is going to change how staff works and students going forward they will be fearful of interacting with and encouraging students in the future this will negatively impact your students and
014their growth it's very hard to understand how you can let go of someone with such a passion and genuine love for teaching encouraging and giving back to the community she was raised in when my 9-year-old asked what I was working on today and I tried to explain to her that coach kma may be losing her job for sending positive messages to kids she said to me mom can't they just say you can't do that then let her go back to class I know she would stop but why would they want her to I think that's a really valid question in all of this and that was a proud M moment for me that even my nine-year-old gets it this was handled unfairly and I'm sure if there was any type of reasonable disciplinary action or
015warning we wouldn't be where we are today your staff our students and the community know this is not fair we shouldn't be abruptly losing an asset to our who I'm sure has never been in trouble with this District or any District in the past even one of your own administrators has told Mrs kusma if I ever have a daughter I would want her to be just like you one of your own administrators in this wh My Hope Is that you reconsider what is truly the right decision in this poorly handled situation history speaks for itself and you shouldn't take away what's good for the future if you if you don't you're going going to leave your staff here F to give encouragement in the time that our kid seems going for thank you very much
016my name is Joan hft and I have been a de resident of 40 years in light of recent I'm here to speak to the character and integrity of Catherine from I have had the blessing of knowing Catherine for over 30 years met in fourth grade right down the hallway here in this school we became Fast Friends work ethic and living with Integrity for shared values even at the young age of nine she quickly introduced me to the game of basketball and we were hooked from fifth through 12th grade we spent thousands of hours thousands of hours together at the basketball cour before school after school on the weekends and over the Summers not only were we friends and classmates but we were teammates too I had countless opportunities to see C True Colors not once
017in those formative years did I ever see her stay from her values but she still will stay tun today now once did she see did she give me any reason to question her Integrity for her motives her work ethic and compassion for others was immeasurable these statements still ring true today a lot of life has happened since then we become wives and mothers she has cried with me in the valleys and joy celebration of the Summits she truly and sincerely hears about me and my family and all the other families who hear stories from Recently it warms my heart that there are so many people who s and have been blessed by Catherine's true character who have seen her true owners this brings me to why I'm here speaking tonight it burns me to my
018core that anyone would question her character integrity or motives she is everything a parent wanted a teacher Community member and friend middle school is hard so when my son started seventh grade this year I was overjoyed that he was going to be in the same school as P before school started this past fall I told them if he ever needed anything without hesitation go to Mrs kma and that she would be there for him that with utmost certainty she would be the stressful person it shatters my heart that she's potentially been ripped away from him my daughter the students of mil Creek and the future students of this community I hope that after tonight you will see clearly that M went to mistakes have been made recently will do everything their power to pray because
019our Comm does deserve the best we deserve thank thank you been a long day got a breathe been on the run so hopefully we can put this all together okay my name is Holly Cabana and I have lived in Dexter for almost 30 years uh I was a math teacher at Dexter High School with a Masters in Education and also a coach for a handful of years before having kids my own now all three of my kids have gone all the way through Dexter Community Schools uh my young gu as a senior this year so I've experienced a lot in the Dexter Community for nearly three decades my concerns revolve around the decisions that you recently made regarding Katherine kosma in the process of enacting disciplinary measures with staff members Katherine was actually a student
020when I was teaching at Dexter High School and I know that she chose to come back to Dexter to teach and raise her family in the community that she grew up in in loves she wanted to be in Dexter to make a difference and she is one of the good ones two of my kids had Mrs kusma for a teacher and they have very positive things to say about her including my son who is a D1 athlete and appreciated her encouraging support as he helped lead the Dexter football program to an unprecedented season in 2022 he always felt comfortable with her and we appreciate that she went out of her way to be a positive mentor to so many um in her time as a teacher and that's trying to be taken away from her
021and from our community she has the exact qualities that I appreciate in a teacher she's committed caring encouraging hold students accountable someone who goes above and beyond to try to be a positive influence to her students so my questions to you are as follows did administ ation meet with Mrs kma to get her side of the story or to discuss any possible policy that she could have I'm sure unintentionally violated or offer her the opportunity to make changes before being yanked out of her class in front of her students was that in the best interest of the teacher or the students I'm wondering if Mrs kusma had any previous marks in her file or any reported disciplinary issues where her professionalism could have been questioned most importantly where is due process for a respected teacher
022and mentor of our community I'm also a member of the Dexter Wellness Center and noticed this winter that Katherine was no longer teaching her classes where she impacted so many in the community as a group fitness instructor for numerous years and that was another thing I'm assuming that was torn away from her I'm not sure that that was fair or necessary how come I can name more than half a dozen good people that this sort of thing has happened happened to in the last few years innocent until proven guilty seems to be thrown out of the window and people in various capacities in the community have been ostracized and their name slandered and they aren't even given the opportunity to defend themselves yes multiple people being banned from school premises by Administration gag orders being
023put in place their rights it seems to me have been violated and we need to take a look at the procedures in place and see if the handbook is followed correctly and how we might be able to improve in the future I have one final question we encourage our students to be respectful of each other but are we turning a blind eye when it doesn't come from the top down like I mentioned before I taught in this District I have a lot of respect for Dexter Community Schools I'm not just some Outsider throwing out complaints I'm very concerned and I'm looking for answers and how to improve moving forward some of you may not be priv privy to all the history but we we need to take a good look in the mirror and make
024sure that we are treating our District employees with respect and be sure that policies are in place to do the same and that the policies are followed so that quality teachers like Katherine FMA aren't targeted and our community loses out on exceptional Role Models I ask that you just do your part to hold everyone accountable to the community of Dexter so that we can take steps forward toward toward uh I'm sorry excuse me so that we can take steps back toward the Dexter Community Schools of old that were well well respected and revered by so many thank you mine will be short because I don't have anything written down they've summed it up pretty well uh but I can't say I'm Erica Ward and uh I have a 23y old daughter who graduated from Dexter
025a 20-year-old also and then I have two children with me here today um in 11th and 8th grade both taught by Katherine kusma and here to show support for her um we're from this area my husband actually make up offer Dex or he hates it when I say that and graduated in 90 and so that's that's my background I guess really I'm here as a witness because my daughter Amilia was in the classroom when she was abruptly removed and I asked many times what was going on and she was students were upset about it it created anxiety there was a lot of rumors spilling about and I just I don't know what the procedure is but it seems like just some sort of statement should be made other than rumors flying around and not being
026substantiated students asking questions and teachers not necessarily denying it or or affirming it but just it was a lot of anxiety for them and it just seems like that should be a concern what what is the process so aside from the fact that I think what's happening with Catherine is wrong I think the way it's been handled is wrong and I know personally it has affected my children thank you thank you hi my name is Julie Simons um I three daughters in the district my oldest graduated two years ago 2023 I have an 11th grader and the sixth grader and I won't take a lot of your time I just want to thank you for listening and appreciate all that you do for our school and um I just want to Echo everyone else's comments
027that um Catherine kusma has been a huge encouragement primarily to my oldest daughter um she had her for two weeks in eth grade um because she was coming back from maternity leave um but then she got to know her when my daughter LED sorry the dreadn Christian athletes group um at the high school and so Katherine had emailed my daughter like many many other students very encouraging emails which I have sent to you so have onal um I'm gonna read this because I'm not good at talking off the cuff um so uh Katherine where was I um she also um spent time with Bethany and um just encouraged her in the ways I think we would want um Dexter students to be to um she helped Bethany to develop a positive self-image she inspired her
028to pursue leadership opportunities in college um and she is just a rare Jewel of a teacher that goes above and beyond what is expected to develop and Inspire her students um like others has said I do not feel that Katherine has been given due process in this situation um I have full confidence that Katherine would follow the rules she was given the chance um and it just has devastated me that in addition to the fact that her job has been taken away um I feel like she has been publicly humiliated first by being pulled away from her students and then also by the news report um that has gone to our entire Community um and we have taken away both of her sources of income she's um been taken away the ability to interact with
029students even outside of school um she was a part of one of the local youth youth groups she's no longer attending that from what I've heard um she cannot participate in any sort of Athletics throughout the district um and so through all of this I feel like we have taken away her dignity in our small town where we are all closely connected as parents and neighbors and friends um I don't think that any of us can say that we are perfect and I would like everyone here tonight to put themselves in Catherine's shoes think about how you would like to be treated and handled and I think that we could have done a better job in the situation thank you for your time thank you is there anyone else who'd like to S with us
030tonight yeah absolutely I'm Jos and I'm de Res um for about 20 years we moved here like most of the people I think just for the schools and um my oldest is 20 my baby is a junior and oh he's here baby but um we were have been blessed in many ways by Catherine so my boys um are not star athletes they're not A+ students but they are typical Dexter kids that tolerate going to school get abs don't get in trouble just kind of ride that line um Katherine to be honest was the first teacher that took interest particular interest in them knew their name when we going to conferences could tell us actually something they're doing and it's a mom that's super super important that's that's what we we want to hear something special
031about our kids um she and she has continued that since middle school he was J set sent them nice letters um sent them supportive things gone to a couple sporting events um but I know we've heard enough about that the other thing I that struck me when you were sitting here I get to fun time with p on Sunday nights I sit in front of people um on Sunday nights at youth group I did yet to I haven't seen her in a few months um and a lot of us moms would just kind of sit around you know what are you doing this week where do you have going oh I've got this just kind of prepping for the week Catherine was always excited about her week to come she never was like I hope
032we have two snow days or I I I don't know I can't even give you any example she never complained she loved being in this District she loved being with the kids she loved doing her job she loved supporting the kids um and there's not that many teachers that I could say that I have heard just go on and on it you know should be excited about growing drills that's something that we need to just take into account um it's a blessing that we don't that we can't find everywhere that's it so I I need to fill out one of those GRE Bo only if you want to and only if you want a response oh I don't okay if you don't need a response then you don't have to Y my name is Cooper
033Wy um I'm a Junior I've lived here my home imperi life um I've known Miss kusma since middle school she taught me in my gym class and I was looking at previous texts from her um because she um knows me personally also about her personally um she says Hey Cooper I hope this text uh finds you well I asked your mom's permission and she said it's great if I could text you so that's how she got my number I have uh I go to the same church with her and she participated and supporting our youth group I have been on many mission trips and also Retreats with her I've been on a 17-hour car ride with her down in Tennessee to help people fix roofs and I was in the front seat talking to her
034trip never once have I ever questioned anything she's ever said to me she's always been positive she s me happy birthday text and I'm always glad when I see your text come across my phone um I hope that you guys look into this and don't just say something because someone says to thank you thank you um my name's Roby I um resident District we had a couple uh kids that graduated from here quite a while ago probably C Catherine kma um so I am ministrator at School Craft College um faculty there so kind have a pretty strong feeling about where you guys are at he's the war and administrator situation you guys are in I provided a letter of support for Catherine um and hopefully you've had a chance to see that not sure that's
035shared with you guys yet but I just want to take a little excerpt from that excellent Educators try to empower and Inspire students to better themselves cathine is a passionate and auth authentic person who pushes herself and her students to achieve excellence in all aspects of their lives if we were selecting Educators to teach and our children or any children in our community cine would be at the top of the list it's been our joy to follow Katherine's Journey from high school student to Dedicated educator and coach um I was a coach in Dexter um for seven years back when she was in high school um so we've known them her and her family for a long time um she's loving and caring mother committed and compassionate Mentor strong contributor to our church and our
036community Katherine is an outstanding role model for our students fellow Educators and community members we're confident that she will follow will continue to inspire and positively influence many more students in the years to come our community needs teachers like Catherine who enthusiastic about their profession and engaged in developing Youth and Dexter uh that's my letter that's part of it anyway um and what I just say is that I know that I I think the first Speaker Christie mentioned that there are two sides to everything and I've seen that in the education world and I've been on both sides and we get it um but at the same time there's a there's a right and wrong in C for his right thank you anyone else who would like to speak with us tonight y p and
037I've lived in Dexter for over 20 years I have three kids two all of them are in the Dexter schools two of them have been taught by Catherine one is a fourth grader and so I'm hope that he still has the opportunity for that I know Catherine professionally and personally I work at the Dexter Wellness Center with her or and so I knew her before she became a teacher at Dexter schools and I was very excited that my kids would have the opportunity to have the experience that being taught by her um both of my kids always talk about how much they care about her how she's an amazing teacher how she has impacted them in positive ways in that Middle School experience that can be pretty challenging the shift to and through both of
038my older two kids have found that middle school is kind of the place where dreams go to die you know you love school then all of a sudden it's not great anymore because it's hard right and socially it's awkward and I know for both of my kids that was a place for them to go to for her classes to that she meets them where they are you go in you walk around you and move or not in those classes right you don't have to be a certain thing and I also got to be a guest teacher in her classes as a yoga instructor and so witnessed how she interacted with students how when they came in a lot of them could kind of relax their shoulders and know they were in a place where they
039could get a break from it all and to and however they needed to do that and so my daughter wasn't in the class when she was removed but she was an active student and so all of a sudden said I don't know where Miss K is any do you know where Miss kma is do you do you think she's okay do you think she's sick do you think somebody in her family is sick and then she saw her out in in the real world and wasn't wasn't given any sort of information other than it's great to see you and I'm sorry that I can't be there my daughter's saying well I don't understand like why I can't like is everything okay and I'm saying to her I don't know but we saw her and she
040looks okay and I hope that everything is okay and the substitute teachers who I know they do their best but it's not a substitute for Catherine and I know that my daughter was negatively impacted in the fact that that class is no longer and Katherine is not there she doesn't know what's going on and she's hearing stuff from other kids right that's not true that's not accurate and I think that's devastating uh for my children I think for Katherine I think for us as community members and so I'm hoping that whatever trajectory that this is moving towards that it is pulled back and it pulled back thank you one quick thing um I just wantan to I don't have anything written down so I'm just gonna um kind of speak real quick my name is
041cherylyn Cheryl um I live in Dexter schools um in the community in Dexter schools my son graduated from and um I just want to ask like when you guys think about your school teachers what do you think about for me I think about the school teacher who um encouraged me the most I grew up in Adrian graduated from Adrian high school and for me that's Mr nzc he was my band teacher and he went above and beyond he encouraged me you know what I um I was first chair symphonic um clarinettist my parents were poor and Mr nag gave me his own clarinet so that I could play and I I just think like he went he he met with me before school he met with me after school and I me because of his
042encouragement and because of other people's encouragement Mrs B um she encourage me outside of class I I I was a music teer I mean these are the people who I remember now Catherine is very near and dear to my heart and I just think are are we getting rid of people who are encouraging kids in their future majors are are we wanting people who are only going to be inside of their school hours never going to encourage our future musicians our future English Majors because we're going to want people to only I can't I can't say anything I can't encourage a kid because we we don't want teachers we're limiting ourselves we're really going to limit ourselves and we're going to limit our our kids I mean I'm so blessed that I had I mean
043I would think Mr Dr that you would know these teachers that I'm talking about you're you're from Adrian I I'm so glad that I had those Adrien teachers that invested in my life and I hope that you guys will rethink this because Katherine's one of the best I mean she's a person above and beyond character if we were if we were grading her a one out of a scale of 1 to 10 she's a 15 actually she's a 20 she's a I mean she's the best and we don't want to get rid of the best because of I don't want people to look at the things that I've done wrong and I mean I'm grateful my church still lets me volunteer and leave worship you know I mean we're all imperfect people you are all
044the perfect people right we're all but thank God we have God who loves us and love he's God grace so I just want you to think about that who is your favorite teacher are they the subpar or are they the people who want out of their way and help you thank you there anyone else who's who' like to speak tonight we appreciate all of you coming out to share your thoughts with us and to show your support and we know that this is a lot of your time on a beautiful night so thank you for for being here thank you very much um we are going to move on now to administrative and board updates starting with the superint and I do not have anything for the board president on to the agenda we just
045have one approval tonight I'll that we approve the U salary schedules for M pleas we have a motion and a second all those in favor say I any opposed all right we do not have action items we do not have discussion items second part public participation um any comments tonight have and we have no information items which brings us to a series of closed sessions we do need a motion and then a roll call vote to move into Clos session i m the Board of Education close session for the purpose of discussing negotiation second um and we need a roll call vote RIS I I and is 640 watching you because keeping out on our toes pause for a second