001I call this meeting to order it is 7:00 p.m. on Monday May 15th this is a regular meeting of the Richfield school board in attendance this evening we have board members Tim Polish crystal Brockie John Ashe made Peter tensing Paula Cole your superintendent unity and I am board chair Christine Malik we drew microphone on how's that nope all right one sec they're tied to the video system not necessarily a PA so we'll see if we can get that address got it nothing talking to microphone is it working [Music] we're going to want them to hear it there's no mic I know right here thank you okay I would like to remind us of the original Public Schools mission statement Richfield public schools and it inspires and empowers each individual to learn grow and Excel we
002will keep this in the forefront of our minds as we work together this evening we have a Spanish interpreter available and Christina Gonzalez will explain it further on the mic there bienvenidos si si necesitan tape it al español por favor cuida n-- pasar con martini aasumal cinnamon o por favor dos kevanna tal 6cj necesita interpret a I aliens alguien que necesita interpret a al español Salas Pony bleh okay the bacon why it seems to me that there is no one that needs any Spanish interpreter okay okay see I know los vamos understand Genesis a la mano okay Oh [Music] founded in France yep every go okay looks like we're set okay so for policy two oh three point five states that individuals wishing to address the board directly during a meeting must make a written
003request prior to the school board meeting the board chair is discretion to determine if or when public comments will be placed on the agenda we have three such requests this evening from Richfield community members so I would like to amend the agenda to include public comments by Melissa Carter sharra Blanche and Jonathan from the Richfield apparent from the Richfield stem school so at this point we would review and look for approval of the amended gender iMovie amended agenda I'll second we have a motion by mr. Aki a second by mr. Paulus any further discussion all in favor please say aye all any opposed the motion passes and the amended agenda is approved so we will move to public comment as a reminder these are statements to the board of the whole there will not be
004a discretion with individual board members each speaker will have three minutes and when that time is up the statement will be done the board does not permit allegations against individual employees or students if this happens this speaking time will end so we will start with Melissa Carter and you can go to the microphone over there please [Music] can you hear me on this mic good evening and thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you about the termination recommendation of Ms Jessica Martinez my name is Melissa Carter and I am a mother of fourth and second grade students at the stem school we have been a part of the school community since 2012 when our eldest son Eric started kindergarten I am NOT here to question the legality or grounds for termination there
005are others with that expertise that will address that tonight I am here to question how and why the documented infractions resulted in her termination rather than coaching in her role Ms Martinez has been a passionate advocate for all children at stem Ms Martinez has demonstrated the ability to create positive relationships with students and holds them accountable with compassion our family has greatly benefited from Ms Martinez's role at stem our second-grade son Alan struggles with mental illness and he needs extra support with social-emotional development while I understand that the school's primary responsibility is for academic learning we do not get to tell our children that the time in the building is just for math and reading so keep it together and focus on your social emotional issues after the bell ring miss Martinez has served as
006a goal reward for Alan sharing her lunch hour with he and a friend and his classmates clamor over the opportunity to join him one classmates even negotiated lending her fidget spinner for the weekend I know listen to that if Alan invited her to lunch with MS Martinez MS Martinez has served as a resource for Alan to process twins was hit when challenges arise in the classroom and Alan seeks out Ms Martinez on a daily basis to show her how is how he is progressing MS Martinez is a critical is critical of Alan when he does not do his best and she problem solves with him on how to handle situations differently Alan leaves MS Martinez is presents with a sense of confidence that he can do this Ms Martinez has also supported our older son
007Erik recognizing that it is hard having a sibling with mental illness MS Martinez has celebrated Erik in his role as a big brother and encouraged him to continue being a positive and caring example of Alan these are just a handful of examples of the tremendous value MS Martinez has contributed to some I can say with confidence that MS Martinez has been a major contributor to Alan's success and I am also confident that you can easily find other stories like these I would like to now turn to the disciplinary notices there was a great amount of detail and care put into the time tracking concerns specifying when and how Ms Martinez did not comply with employer expectations it was a single incident broken into multiple infractions I do not agree that a time reporting infraction should
008be addressed with termination in addition there was only a single mention with no supporting detail around quote going beyond her role why is this and how can one not become suspect that it is related to miss Martinez requesting to support her students of color by wearing message t-shirts it is my interpretation that infractions were found that could be documented and justified but that these were not the primary drivers to remove Ms Martinez from her position Melissa where the past three minutes so if you want I will have two more paragraphs now via these allegations of discrimination and retaliation against faculty and staff at stem are very serious as a mother of children of color and as a member of the human race I feel the need to raise my voice in Ms Martinez's defense as
009a member of the Richfield community and a parent of students that I hope will be able to continue in this district I will raise my voice in my children's defense and while I am sure I do not have all the facts the ones that have surfaced do not reflect well upon our school and it is imperative that the board launch an investigation to determine how widespread this problem is in some way I have three things of the board I ask that you move to table the termination recommendation of Miz Jessica Martinez I ask that you request the administration to reflect upon the value Miz Martinez has provided to the stem school and if the infractions truly cannot be resolved through some type of coaching and lastly I ask that you the board members delve into
010these allegations of discrimination and retaliation against the staff members at the stem school Thank You Melissa so we went to five minutes on that so try to keep it to three of you I will do my best thank you my name is Sarah Blanche I am the mother of a fifth grade biracial students at the stem school my son has attended stem since kindergarten and I am original high school alumna Richfield schools shaped Who I am and they are shaping who my son will become because of this what happens at Richfield schools matters to me in addition to being a parent at stem I work in human resources in the public sector I have a master's degree in HR and attend multiple continuing education conferences each year that are focused on termination of public sector
011employees I am also a founding member and administrator of the Richfield social justice community a group that a couple of you school board members are a part of in my work life I am involved in the discipline of employees and I conduct employee misconduct and discrimination investigations I advise managers and department directors at my employer on disciplinary and termination processes I'm here to discuss the termination of Jessie Martinez until January Jessie had a stellar performance record the problem problems began for her when she along with other staff approached the administrator at their school on Wednesday January 11th to inform him they were coordinated in efforts where black lives matter t-shirts to school on Friday January 13th to in support of their black students because the SEM handbook does not prohibit clothing with social justice or
012political messages wearing such clothes wearing such clothing is protected under the First Amendment courts have interpreted that public sector employee employees have First Amendment rights and ways that private sector employees do not the First Amendment protects all of us in this country from government persecution what more could someone be persecuted for by in terminating their employment this has been interpreted so that unless an employee is in violence is violating an employer policy or a local state or federal law they are free to speak and wear the clothing that they would like to at work as the mother of one of those black students I appreciate the effort of stem staff to show him the support at the ripe old age of eleven he has experienced racism multiple multiple times but this isn't really about a
013shirt or participating with other staff to wear a shirt on one day it appears that the district realized that this was a fight they couldn't win instead they have chosen to retaliate against Jessie since February jessie has been limited in her ability to speak too fast other staff were told they needed permission to speak to her in her office and Itali has been kept of staff interacting with her in her office in April Jessie was issued a two-day suspension for an interaction with another staff member where the staff member interjected herself and instigated an argument with Jessie how was that for fault for asking she was also disciplined for asking for assistance from a co-worker when she suffered an injury at work and was not able to notify administrators in her building that she needed
014to leave to go to the hospital sharra we're past three minutes so I would appreciate if you wrap it up by him being out of the building and directing staff to contact mr. Smithfield she for time that Jessie needed off of work on May 10th in 9th and 10th Jessie served those two days of suspension she was told by the domestic administrator not to come to work on May 11th and 12 and later was told not to come to work today pending an investigation actions taken during that meeting including telling her to stay in her Lane and reaching for her phone in an attempt to look through it the reason Jessie was being investigated is because she communicated with a connect with a candidate with a stem principle position communication that he initiated as I
015previously mentioned I have worked in human resources in the public sector for 15 years for the past 10 years I have been involved in employee discipline and termination never in my time have I seen someone disciplined for the actions of others the only actions jesse has taken that are potentially worthy of discipline are her coding her time off in March at that time when she was not ill even that is questionable given Jesse's statement that other staff at them do the same thing in all of my experiences of disciplining public sector employees both unionized and non-unionized staff I have always seen progressive discipline used progressive discipline typically involves pre discipline that includes coaching and sometimes documented coaching called letter of expectations and disciplinary action including an aural warning a written reprimand and multiple dysfunctions typically
016starting at one to two days Londi nearest guys one day who I would like to give the required progressive discipline also requires an employee's our meeting so you guys are all very welcome these are your schools and our schools but this is a meeting of the Richfield public school board more than we need it is open to the public library but the purpose of this meeting is for us to conduct our business progressive discipline also requires an employee to have the opportunity to correct their behavior given the quick succession in which her discipline has been issued she has not had the opportunity to do so the district jumped quick directly to a 2-day suspension when in my experience the actions of incorrectly coding her time off would result in an aural warning at most were
017first occurrence even if the Board believes that Jessie should be disciplined for all of her actions in my experience these would result in at most a one-day suspension for a first occurrence I believe that the district has taken the actions against Jessie because she has because she is the only staff member involved in the January meetings regarding the black lives matter shorts who is not represented by a union yeah this make her an easier target than a pair of professional and professional staff who were involved and allows them allows them to intimidate her by making an example of her even if the Board believes that Jessie's actions are worthy of termination she has not been given her due process rights in lauter Mill versus the Cleveland Board of Education the Supreme Court held that non-probationary
018civil servants have a property right to continued employment and such employment cannot be denied to employees unless they were given an opportunity to hear and respond to the charges against them prior to being terminated it is my understanding that the school board is the final decision-making authority on whether Jesse will be terminated or not the letter delivered to her on Saturday May 13th does not give Jesse this right lastly the very fact that her termination is on the agenda for tonight's meeting is in violation of the Minnesota data Practices Act given that it is not yet in final disposition as action items I am asking that the school board removed the termination of Jessica Martinez from the consent agenda and decides separately on for termination secondly I ask that the school board reinstate Jessie to
019her position effective tomorrow and at any time off consent is and all pay is restored lastly I'm asking the board to launch an investigation into what has happened to be completed by an investigator not associated with Richfield Public Schools investigators are available on a contractual basis in closing I hope you choose to ensure that Jesse has given her due process rights and do not allow administrators to make an example out of her the message you choose to send to staff students and parents tonight will have long lasting implications so finally we have Jonathan a parents on the stem school who will have interpretation by Christina Gonzalez everybody has gone over we will hold this to five minutes as a maximum if we go over and if the meeting is disrupted we will recess oh thank
020you everything is so safest evaporation of adenosine commune so it was anything goes okay hola buenas tardes a todos no voy a salud a Lomu informal mente por que pues me tiempo que no quiero que me Kyle I just want to say good evening to everybody I'm going to greet you all formally I don't want my time to run out [Music] okay so I'm AM bro de Association de padres de Familia Latino day ritual diadem esposo via mente soy padre de familia I'm a parent on a ritual Latino Family Association and I'm also a parent of a student at stem pero sobre todo un miembro de la comunidad que estar entre God okay esta pasando escuela but above all I'm a community member who's involved in what's happening right now como miembro de l'association puedo
021decir que no principal interest lo que se dicen cuando los ninos as a member of the rich the Latino Family Association I can say that our principal concern is about the children yeah que por la Doce los DC k confi ahmo's en el distrito y que tenga Mo's certeza de que no Travis a rescue Chadha por una dos anos de se que con fimo ZN el distrito y que tenga Mozart essa de que nuestra bulbus a rescue Chadha on one side they say that we should trust in the district tenor voice OD her ureter hola donor SOC a lays y seguramente Jessica nom de harem entir por que hace lo firma el superintendente no puedes is nombre selim Okanogan a bizarre pero voy a hacer el intento D CK Watson elementos Oprah Jessica en cuanto
022a note en la educación para hacer UN sin alam en todo para pedir justicia poor parte de nuestros hermanos Negros on the other side I want to be sure that I'm affirming what was said to Jessica around her a lack of education and her defense of our black brothers and sisters Bahian okay como DG antes de interés a los vinos pero también Jessica shell director want super Intendant Aoki NCAA cualquiera torrid are DNA nos dicen que confirm ozn ellos y por otro lado garland o blaid exclusive as I said before the children are what matter and Jessica's also important to us Quadra de Familia Masako Todd red miembros interesado z-- as a as a parent of families for the rich with Latino Family Association it's been work for us to bring parents to the to
023the Association no poor fall today ganas si no porque la comunidad sabe que nuestra bespoke Alvarez escucha de and not for a lack of wanting but because at times our voices and heard support role a bold mo siempre de sociologie el superintendente cree que las personas tamos capacity' bus' para venir yurchikhin otro derechos como semana para de aqui por un lado y por un lado NOS dicen una cosa ok por otro lado Lemos que el superintendente d SE que la gente no sack a posited a esto es SI prin channel a me addressed to superintendence as de buen a capo como la gente bobbin air con ganas de querer sarah scootch ADO's house gonna wanna come here with any desire to be heard Nostra comunidades Pirsig we discriminate our community is persecuted and discriminated against
024muchas veces bono trackin dision de color many times because of the state of our color the condition of our color pero muchos otros Vaughn otra condition de falta de studio and another reason for a lack of studies or schooling nestled implica que no vamos a pelear contra de hoc no vamos a that doesn't mean that we're not going to fight for a right for a TRO lado del que el superintendente de se and on this crucial component yes you can read it and I also see on the other side but the superintendent puts in discussions on the Internet que ellos están aquí para mantener content a la gente blanca that they're here to maintain the happiness of the white people yo se lo veo solamente gente Blanca I don't see any white people here Berman
025los negros vamos Blancos the hermanos cafes I see black brothers Wright brothers and brown brothers and sisters entonces she cray this one went to edit content a la gente blanca see if you think that your job is to keep the right people happy i said okay como miembro de la sodium the padres de familia I assure you as a member of the pitcher Latino Family Association where BC terracotta we're getting only nice panel in your natal I will visit each home of a family that has a black or brown child embosser locate our CDN dou y facility to Dell and I'm going to ask them in in terms of what is happening in the attitude I selected to de superintendente and based on the menus and based on the attitude of this pretendin that we
026take our children to keep in the liver that we remove our children from the school given as you don't know do my cosas I would like to say the man's name sailor dry historia de una empanada que hace doper seguida al punto de tener que de su trabajo I know another story of another person who was persecuted and had to leave her job Deborah zona Sofia's t por la persecución que cela do know cursor cursor obvious reasons and for the persecution that she endured no quiero ser el hombre de antifa cada she doesn't want to be named or identified it's obvious which Parma yo bert ikeda poor gente Blanca tiene miedo she's Hispanic and she was persecuted by white people she is after we have a delicacy que presenta if she agrees I'm going to
027ask her to show up this testimonial and to give her testimony noble noble a mistake infirmity endo 10 otros derechos we can't allow that our rights continue de las obligaciones que tienen la escuela y las que las obligaciones kidding me then the obligations we have in school get in to lament and muginami carlo and riders of jealous and that that the obligations at school remain only communicated on internet to the internet from the photo editor comunidad de la lengua no kamila and Kristina allow more time for the translation please okay go ahead damas de hecho para una propuesta pitcher latina FSA ID her on que le siren tempo a low say más que quieren que des 10 tiempo hace también dijo al central odd odor hecho de pekka to t masaste por la comunidad de
028marrón de he stay Casey Casey nos dicen he needed more time you should have known that I just said he could have more time okay Bordeaux lado de la spada como Deegan impressive okay peg ammos confianza so it's been asked by us that we have trust yellow seasoned comunicados tan fácil que no está pasando nada he tells us so easily in a communication that nothing's happening de la merced Adel okay in the last our LF a meeting pregunte casey los miembros de rachael penton autoridades para ver con los padres de familia I asked if the members of Richfield are have permission to talk to the parents in Richfield what's up window their answer was no entonces gonghui a confit era en algún que multiple Andrade's midi say how is that someone on the internet says
029trust me and we're going to support you but roll out that is a la pregunta and then at the same time they asked they say don't ask questions so no superintendent de lo que c'est de jakke mr. superintendent if what's being said here this year tone is true esto no la paura solamente una de Jessica this isn't in a staff only with Jessica Margret hola ninos Malkina student her son DeVito is a crime la vamos a investigar and we're going to investigate it get open I want to ask toward the board que ser una investigación come personal external to do an investigation with people from outside para saber que realmente lo que esta pasando to know truthfully what's happening Johan from the stars universe u puede ser and God willing you can find out if
030it could be possible a no despues que yo no se la gente Logano say kudos and in the if it could be that way the people can say that it couldn't happen porque como le dije no vamos a / Arcana so just like I said we're not going to stop with this we have one more concerns with a peaceful has written statement from pentalobe and the boys sleep we believe today we will live a Beulah one marking so the policy states that the request has to come in writing before the meeting and know so the policy states that the that the request has to come in writing before the meeting and that the choice whether or not to allow someone to speak is at the discretion of the chair whether the request comes even if
031the request does come we actually we did all receive the letter from the person from that and doubly so I so I will say there has been a lot of disrespect in the timeline at this point I do apologize for not allowing time for translation that was my error and I am I'm sorry that I did not recognize that so and I apologize for that so because someone right here said something and I was responding okay so anyway I will allow right I'm good I don't have the letter obvious I'll read it for three for the three minutes I'm not use the whole thing resources resources [Music] this is a letter from Jason Sol of the Minneapolis on wcp the Minneapolis n-double-a-cp recently became aware of the actions of Superintendent Steven you now ski in
032the Richfield Public Schools regarding Jessica Martinez and her actions to organize with staff at the Richfield stem school to support students of color by wearing black lives matter shirts around the Martin Luther King Martin Luther King jr. holidays educators and schools across the country have identified ways to work against racism in their administration and institutions commendably these Richfield teachers were wishing to do the same and where black lives matter t-shirts were all black to stand in solidarity with the students of the color that attend richfield's done a former student in the Richfield district herself Jessica Martinez was excited to be able to be a part of this movement in her own words if someone who went through this district as a student I know what it's like to not be affirmed and it's so important
033to me that these students feel our support of them and their humanity despite the dedication to social justice carried by these teachers the school superintendent demanded that the staff not wear the black lives matter shirts since that time he has threatened and intimidated Jessica presumably to make an example out of her for other educators in Richfield schools ultimately he is now attempting to terminate her employment and has sent a recommendation submitted to this Board of Education to be voted on at this evening school board meetings our concerns are about more than the right of teachers to wear a shirt that expresses their personal viewpoints the follow up actions superintendent UNLV and other administrators have taken create a chilling effect on creating a welcoming space for teachers and students of color wishing to raise racial equity
034concerns having open conversations about prejudice and systemic racism between educators students and parents is necessary if we as a community wish to ensure equal treatment for all the Minneapolis n-double-a-cp stands with the social justice education movement and announces the actions of superintendent UNLV we ask that the school board take action during tonight's meeting to preserve Jessica's future employment working alongside families in the Richfield school district sincerely Jason Sol president to them a plus n double acp thank you for your comments the letter okay so you want to know when you're going to be on to the letter M we are going to move on with our meeting right now so we will we will respond to the letter within the week I will give you that manager yes sir ma'am I'm not I'm not the
035principal I'm kind of tired that they have a member of my level rises in here and then I will say in the second day of school [Music] my Christmas the only not only one flip every to this G is not only when are you met him my people nothing she wants to have everything thing the whiskey I think you can thank me sir can hear you fine alright good I could probably be fine thank you all compliance with our Father said before yes okay thank you thank you so it's Robin I guess you don't listen okay we have allowed public comment for the people that followed the policy for public comment thank you for sharing your information and we appreciate all of your support of the work of Jessica okay so we need to move
036on with our meeting and we would appreciate it if you would allow us to move on to the next step so we will move on to information and proposals from the superintendent and superintendent update so I'd like to welcome you like to welcome you to Richfield Public Schools my name is Phoebe now skean for the past four you I've been the superintendent of this district how many of you are here for the first time given the number of questions I've received over email I'm going to try to address a number of topics regarding our organization our leadership and our staffing a discussion of our district begins with our students we're a small suburban district of approximately 4,300 students we're proud of our diversity including over 72% students of color along with one of the highest
037percentage of English language learners in the metro area we are led by a governor space board with a clear set of priorities and values including accountability transparency and equity they define a clear vision of equity for our organization to follow we engage in the district and open discourse and dialogue that brings multiple perspectives to the table we accept and expects non closure in our work equity and Richfield is much more than training well we openly engage in innocent classroom work readily access we met equity offerings and in gate have engaged in countless equity based trainings the actions we take every day so that the core of our equity work equity takes many forms in Richfield public schools over the past three years alone we have seen improvements in student achievement staffing leadership services and social
038justice so I will share a little more about each of those areas equity towards student achievement student learning and success at the center of what we do with signals that were making real progress for our students of color our graduation rate is drom african-american students now graduated rate 15 percent higher than the state average latino students at our rate seven percent better from the MCA we've seen a reduction in the achievement bear our disparity between our highest and lowest groups of students we've overhauled our gifted and talented programming and seen a 10% increase in the number of students of color being identified and served we've increased improved access to rigorous college based credit courses as a result we've seen enrollment in these courses increased by over one hundred and eighty students of color with our
039high school transformation next year these numbers will exponentially increase we have implemented systemic and structural supports that have led to a 40 percent reduction in fails within our high school and we have interrupted systems that were not serving our commitment to equity while we're proud of our progress we also know that there is still significant work to accomplish in our district and around the state to attain educational justice will continue to be bold our efforts to do so equity in traffic and equity and leadership we hire our staff based on talents and skills and has implemented a rigorous recruitment screening and hiring process over the past three years our staff diversity has grown significantly due to our efforts to proactively recruit a staff that reflects the diversity of our students and district leadership team has
040thrown be 25% leaders of color as the next year half of our principals will be leaders of color our leadership team contains a level of diversity and broad-based perspectives that is rarely seen in school districts and it's highly valued we believe Richfield public schools from the only district outside of Minneapolis and st. Paul's offer the combination of an african-american female leadership of the assistant superintendent and high school principal levels each was recruited for their award-winning leadership they have been providing in the urban north side of Minneapolis well our staff diversity is above Minnesota average we know that it is still not enough dedicated to grow these numbers we've engaged in multiple recruitment efforts international teacher exchange program watch partnerships with colleges and universities and begun work to grow your own programs will openly and transparently
041share that we need to do better in this area and will continue to focus on our improvement we provide funding towards outreach workers a position that aligns with our values and outreach workers are present in every school in the past three years despite reductions in staffing in most other areas we have added two additional outreach positions to a group it now totals 11 all of whom are staff of color and led by a Spanish fluid arabic director hyundai equity and services and in social justice we value and celebrate social justice in our organization for both our staff we believe that the most important social justice activity in our school district is to ensure that our students are thriving and learning in every classroom every day and that they feel welcomed and affirmed for who they
042are and what they believe we have provided a wide range of services and advocacy supporting our students and families over the past three years we have opened an on-site health center providing health services to all children birth to 21 who are students or children of risk-filled we have expanded our food and clothing shelves that have added district-wide free breakfast and free fresh fruit and vegetable snacks we've added voluntary pre-k and pathways through scholarships dried early education and intervention to our students we have been a proud and loud advocate for our students families hosting numerous community immigration and housing forums we have hosted and sponsored multiple district equity events directly making equity statements and practicing equity behaviors with our students families and our community groaning total justice none of this matters when this all results we
043are not afraid we're not afraid to make difficult and challenging decisions that without all the information could certainly lead to equity questions we cut our avid program it was a controversial and difficult decision to do so [Music] avid is known to be a successful program that frequently served students of color nearly half a million dollars were previously invested in the Richfield advic program beyond the teacher in staffing the participants showed a graduation rate for african-american and Latino students below the rate that those who had not participated we pulled out of the we met collaborative we made this decision at the same time as other districts Columbia Heights and Brooklyn Center to small progressive diverse districts we believed at the time in our findings show that these believes to be accurate that we can access Ouimet
044programming that we feel we need and value a la carte while adding innocent classroom equity using the same fun as the district you'll hear us say clearly and we are very proud of our equity work I also want you to hear us to say that we have a long road to go and we are up to the challenge and want your support as we move forward you may be here for more than equity work you may hear me here for reasons concerning free speech or the black lives matter movement I'm a believer in free speech and a lifelong free speech desert anywhere one of the great benefits of a highly diverse leadership team as their multiple perspectives our highly diverse and opinionated leadership team openly engages in sharing multiple perspectives to show our clear commitment
045to experiencing discomfort and I value the different opinions that our team members bring to the district each voice is valued and heard regardless of title or position yeah the professional I want to share further I grew up personally in a home with a social platform of justice was free speech I grew up in a family bookstore and my father is a locally and nationally awarded and known bookseller publisher book reviewer and more importantly okay I can definitively tell you that the Richfield public schools and our Rick and our leadership do not ban political shirts we did not ban black black matter shirts in January and no staff members no staff members no staff members have been disciplined formally or informally for advocacy related to black lives matter you'd like to walk down our halls on
046any given day likely including today you would likely see black lives matter shirts and other statements of support for social justice and student advocacy on the clothing of both children and adults you may also be here for the recent blog post to show your advocacy for social justice we're proud and impressed with the dedication of your voice and the spirit with which you are here I can definitively reassure you but the accounts that have been shared are inaccurate and we have taken steps early what is transpired and the accuracy of how it is being described by consulting with multiple individuals belief in this account requires the false assumption that despite not organizing an event and not wearing black lives matter shirts the mere mention of these things set off the course of astounding deplorable actions
047belief in this account also requires ignoring that none of the employees involved in this situation alleged discrimination to any of their union leaders or district leadership team members and we Fitness accounts requires the false assumption that our administration and board would support a recommendation for termination based on subjective information provided in the blog posting rather than actual objective documentation validated by multiple individuals used for the administrative recommendation before the boards tonight city has if I were reading that blog post without additional information or multiple perspectives that would be concerned too we work to Jesse I can assure you that what has been portrayed as not what's taking place and the no staff member is or has been punished or terminated for any reasons associated to speedy advocacy board for black slacks matter or whatever we
048listen to them wait your three minutes so I support social justice and fun is our board is quote I want to welcome you guys please allow us to continue our meetings this is a regular part of our meeting thank you for this include I want to welcome you again to Richfield public schools we welcome your presence in our district now and we welcome it again in the future Bobby did you stop going to move on to facility studies okay good evening I'm pleased to share with Ryan Hoffman and Pat over him who are here to update the board as well as a community on our facility study as the board knows this is something that's been going on since about a year ago where they conducted a survey of all of our facilities gone through
049looked at our infrastructure needs met with parents and community members as well as staff to assess and understand the needs of the community and the needs of our school itself without Emma turned over to Ryan Hoffman and Pat over on Cermak chair I asked if if we can't continue with the meeting as scheduled it's been publicly scheduled in order we would like to go through it in order please if we if we're interrupted I ask that we take a recess okay so could you please allow them to continue this is the order of our agenda we amended it to allow people to speak and now this is the next item on our agenda we would greatly appreciate it if you would show them respect and allow them to speak thanks very much for having us
050here tonight we'll be brief in our update but we'll go through this presentation this is update based on our January board meeting we've done some work as far as the Soviet analysis and study goes a quick overview of what we've done you said the physical assessments to each of the buildings has been complete to this point surveys of in surveys for our the staff on building use and condition and intended use are 99% complete that just leaving a hundred percent complete at this point because we do have one final step to go to which we'll get to we have conducted community and other stakeholder input sessions discussion sessions along with adoption creators stakeholder committee that also is about 95 percent again we have one more meeting to finish there we are in the process of
051developing solution considerations based on criteria from the staff and administration as well as community and business city partners again not quite 100% complete because we have one more meeting to go we have developed budgets and potential funding strategies the board to consider some of that you'll see tonight most you'll see in about a month when we come back with our final recommendation from option creators again a 95% complete and then the ultimate goal is to implement a long-range plan based on your facilities in the month of June so I often create a group that we've been mentioning was created to place a framework of priorities around drivers and and scopes for your facilities as they move forward that group came together it's it's comprised of about 30 different individuals mostly administration some staff principals and
052also community members their task was to create some priority levels in-house you assess the the different possibilities what could happen in your facilities moving forward in a long-range plan each individual item that's going to be completed in a school or a district wide implementation would have to fit in sort into a certain priority driver as we call they develop these priority drivers there's seven of them they're ranked in order here meaning that the top is the most important driver the bottom is we'll call it the least important driver but noting that these drivers are all important in their decision as they look at facilities options moving forward so infrastructure deferred maintenance that is the nuts and bolts of the building heating systems carpets flooring sealed ceilings parking lots mechanical electrical systems things like that that
053was their number one priority driver they wanted to make sure that the district is taking care of those needs first next is safety and security obviously you've done a lot in that regards meaning updating buildings to make sure that as public comes in that the students and staff inside the building are secure having check-in things like that but they want to take that a step further that's the second priority driver course space is defined as all the big spaces within a building meaning gyms cafeterias kitchens hallways all the community type spaces that was there priority driver Department specific would be specific educational departments science department math department special education things like that community then is the next meaning what gets the community into the building so they can use and take advantage of all the
054facilities that are available collaboration is a driver based on both students collaboration during the instructional day but also in collaboration with community at night and how do those two things function and how do the buildings function to make sure that collaboration is is achieved and then program continuity is is a driver that basically says that they want educational programs to make sure they flow all the way from kindergarten instruction or pre-k all the way up to high school programs and and that they match for instance stem programming at the middle school would have a continuing program through the high school and be implemented that way so those are the priority drivers so any needs or opportunities we looked at with with the staff have to fit in each one of those different buckets if you
055low so this par mat is very difficult to read on the PowerPoint and that's actually fine for our discussion tonight I just wanted to talk a little bit how the scope outline process has evolved over time and you saw a revision of that at your last work session again all of the needs were identified and quantified drivers were established and organized from a priority standpoint each need within the district whether it was a physical need or a programmatic need was categorized by those drivers and refined accordingly the first pass of that was done from a very literal standpoint if you recall at our last meeting we we went through those different scenarios once that was done we worked back with that option creators group to take a look at each line item specifically to see
056if there were any items that stuck out in warranted further discussion and potential adjustment or refinement that process has taken place and was part of the report back to you just last month from there we're looking at an outcome of that last work session was was kind of a directive from the board for us to circle back with the with the option creators to further refine and kind of finalize their their work by a real fine-tuning of this document so as directed we've continued to work through those different options if you recall that last spreadsheet had many many different columns associated with each driver what you see here is really the next iteration of that and we just wanted to share this tonight as an example format all of the scope items remain consistent the
057blue column really represents kind of what we would now define as base improvements the next green column we've established as additional considerations or additional improvements for consideration or further discussion so we've started to pull together homework that will ultimately go to that option create or circle back if you will do we have this Busan scope scope aligned with the sent out a PowerPoint yeah it's done by PowerPoint we can certainly send that out to you so you have it again it's a work in progress okay and that's my probably outdated those are going to carry down we are still working within the same framework from from an overall priority driver tax impact standpoint those things as we discussed at the last work session again that hasn't changed we're still looking at it working within those
058targets and those ranges next steps as directed we're certainly going to go back and realign and refine things with the with the options creators we're going to look at developing that final option creator recommendation to you as a board will establish that follow-up work session with you to go through that in another level of detail on a parallel track the Community Survey will be conducted and so we'll be waiting anxiously for those results to be integrated with this and that will all roll together hopefully by early to mid June we'll be working with you to to see how those two mesh and integrate so again a very quick update tonight but we wanted to at least let you know things aren't standing still and we're continuing to refine and narrow things down thank you does
059anyone have any questions thank you very much everyday just a quick highlight so the status right now there is a Community Survey that is out there specific to the facility study we are anticipating that information back by the end of the month with the opportunity to share that information at the beginning of June and kind of move this work forward with another review by the facility Study Committee thank you please next we have an athletic presentation by mister boy what nope evening I'm just update you on progress we've made in terms of some of the discussion we had this winter in regards to our change and start times and its effect on athletics and co-curricular and so I provided in your board packet there's a spreadsheet a lot of that information still estimates we're still
060finishing up our fall schedules at this time so they're not complete so some of that stuff is still in terms of numbers of early releases some of the practice times some of those are still estimated and some of that stuff has been set and firmed up depending on what we go so that information is on there for you to see second thing we're working on is looking at kind of creative ways to use that time before school in terms of practice and what that would mean in possibilities of working with coaches in terms of things that they might want to do before school in terms of optional activities and how they might enhance us so working with them on that third looking at our outside facilities and I was a big issue this winter when
061we through we went through that process is looking at what the effect would be on our programs that use outside facilities and rental times those things nothing none of that has been set post those again we're winter so again we just still have verbal commitments from each of those that they will that helps provide the time you know that we need to do that and then did work with the trap team in terms of one of our independent providers in terms of what it means to their program so I set with their coach and went through possibilities he I gave him much possible as we talked about what things might look like options that he's going to have to take back and work with the club on what that would look like in terms of
062would we have the possibility to move to more Sunday times or you know can we you know adjust our time a little bit to go through so so those are things that we've been working on you've got the update I'm really here just want to answer questions that anything that has come up since then the update you I think one part of the information that I would be interested in you you separate out early release and projected early releases but with the latest start time I would be interested in knowing how much longer that release time is so if they're missing more than one full class as opposed to in the past maybe missing part of one yep yeah I mean we could look at those like I said all the estimates I've used there's
063you know I looked at the number of trying to look at the number of early releases we had this year and what time and then project it out when I was out having firm bust I'm saying well the school is getting out 40 minutes later projecting that our the time we have to go is 40 minutes I don't see that being reality I think you know in terms of as we go look forward at what when do we really need to get out our coaches do a great job right now making sure our kids are staying in class as much as possible and limiting those times and time away from class that will continue to be our our mission and motivation in terms of those things I mean there will be obviously we talked about
064there will be more early releases they will be longer you know when we have to do them but the other part working with other schools that have done this is they said you know it's a good time to really look at how much warm-up time do we need you know what does that really look like how can we encourage kids to get to the bus as quick as possible and helping them be more efficient in those things so if we can find different ways to squeeze that time down and get kids our kids in class as much as possible but I can certainly look at those times and again as we go forward we'll have a better idea of how much time that is for example cross-country they're getting out this year at 2:30 in
065missing the last 10 minutes of class I would project that if they're getting out at 2:30 now that you know we're looking at 50 minutes another 50 so dayvon is it fair to say that the co-op's are the harder ones to project because we're working with another building and they're there release time is or is it just take longer or is hockey tied to a specific we we don't have ice times yet but you know that we're not in a position right now in terms of I have a lot more to do with the coop with Southwest Christian Academy right now we're still trying to schedule our games once we kind of have those game schedules then we'll sit down probably early fall and look at practice schedules again everyone's aware of our later start
066times I've had those conversations with holy angels in terms of you know what does it look like for our students and your you know your time and how to make that work again he's he told me that you know they're certainly they enjoy working with us they want our kids they need our kids and they're going to do whatever they can to to make that work for us so one more one more item you'd mentioned and it may be folks getting creative thinking about how to use the morning time I was under the impression one of the advantages maybe of of the later start which was an opportunity to eliminate a zero hour right where transportation is harder or you know you know you're getting getting to school before the buses run for some students
067is harder and so I would be I would be wary of a significant use or more than once a week kind of thing by a team four or four essentially is still a zero hour yeah absolutely and I and I probably misspoke on that we're all the when we're looking at before school times and I sent it out to coaches and they're saying anything we're looking at that would be optional in terms of you know whether kids could make it the only request I've had firmed up right now would be soccer they do Friday conditioning instead of a regular practice and so he was wondering and trying to figure out if doing that before school makes me know make sense for his kids that's again he wants to be a point where they're going to
068be there they're able to be there and certainly he knows that if we're not going to have as many kids there it certainly wouldn't be mandatory but certainly something the kids would use and and like to say I'm going to go before school on Friday and my friday afternoons off so sure okay thank you thank you mister boy oh just oh and finally moving request that you allow us to continue our meeting oh thank you we move on to commendations 1700 millions on the board agenda tonight Kristina Kelly mother of Richfield high school senior Taylor Kelly wrote in this appreciation of German teacher Elizabeth Zhen sunny thank you for the experience of a lifetime being able to have students from Germany stay with us and then send Taylor to Germany it was an experience she
069will never forget nor will I our sylheti is sending her with her teacher because she is such a caring person and knows everything there is to know about taking these lucky children to Germany she is a gem Dean Breuer received an email from the National Decker organization informing him that for the first time in our schools history we have four deca students who passed the rigorous national school-based Enterprises certification exam and are now individually certified in addition to the certification six straight years earned by our Spartan Avenue School store dean says is a man a member of the National SBI advisory council I can tell you that our statistics suggest that perhaps less than 40% maybe more or less for any given year pass this exam this is a high achievement for these four individuals
070congratulations to Jack flowers Peter Hamilton Freddie Julian and Mattie Lennon the finally Richfield middle school teacher Nate Edwards applied for and received the teachers and technology grant from the Century Link Clark and Williams foundation the amount of four thousand two hundred twenty-five dollars the middle school will be using the money for a laser cutter congratulations two names thank you and finally remove on to the consent agenda do we have any discussion happy happy Monday no tachi okay Oh kevie bust a move Jackie bye Jay no tapping Bob said Oh kevie busting move - emulsion mom happy birthday think allow us to continue the meeting please allow us to continue the meeting I appreciate I appreciate those that have taken the time to share their concern in support of equity and inclusiveness in richfield's public school
071concerns right bye all are taken seriously we have read emails listen to voice messages we have asked questions and all perspectives have been considered on these issues superintendent announced Key has continually informed me on the issues I reviewed the Disciplinary documentation with the district human resources department after full consideration it is clear the administration has followed our boards policies for discipline and termination this is mine haha Oh if you don't know we were you not very savvy so we are going to recess if you do not stop if we will recess if you do not stop and allow us to our meeting that's bad we will continue on equity and exclusiveness work in the district we are we are going to we are going to recess for 10 minutes until we can have [Applause] thank
072you I call this meeting back to order we are we are going to move forward with our meeting so I wrote one more thank you I appreciate that I love you I am here again I have included issues I have never experienced anyways and with interest Ashley I have been feel inspired in power I am able to do I all grow in it that t1 as well have been inspired empowered and Excel I think dings has been all the perversion I don't think and there is no place and identity in this business place for our way I love you guys I love you okay I guess yeah she's saying that that she's helped her a lot and she's done so much for her family's better ever had to distribute a free was helping them that's
073like they are daddy okay Oh daddy's okay Oh daddy's motion mom Jackie okay I'll go you're thank you fired if staff couldn't get fired there would be more staff here yeah I just say possible there's hundreds of staff for the experience of culture of fear there we're not going to let it tumble rich you okay no work I don't know you know be my example not intimidation okay I called it meeting back to order I would appreciate it if you would give us give us the respect to allow us to continue our meeting to make our motions and to make our vote if if you continue to disrupt the meeting then I will have to call another recess and we will have to ask you to leave so we move on to the consent agenda
074is there a motion on the consent agenda the consent agenda as presented [Music] madam chair I will second we have a motion by mr. tensing and a second by mr. Follin all in favor please say aye okay I'm calling this meeting back to order we have a motion on the table - we have a motion on the table to approve the consent agenda we have a second on the table to approve the centage Enda a motion by mr. tensing a second by mr. Paulus all in favor allow us to continue our meeting so if you are in favor please say aye simply can't hear all in favor please I [Music] madam chair I would move that we table the remaining agenda items with the exception of item 6a and 6d I will second to motion
075by the college so we have a motion by mr. Paulson a second by mr. tensing to table the other items on the agenda except for item six eight and sixty all in favor please say aye are any opposed the chair votes aye and the motion privileged be but we move on to new business preliminary budget authorization mr. Halsey thank you I have for you review spike the preliminary budget as well as a request for advanced expenditure authorization based on that budget the extra budget will come to you on June 12 for requesting approval to spend up to 30 percent next year projected budget prior to that adopted budget Craig that is just the pre-authorization before the budgets finalized to allow the school to do it start up purchasing correct the authorization to expend up to
076thirty percent of that budget fire to the adopted budget on June 12 any other questions shame on you natural I will move you know what I am very sorry nan Tara I'll moved although the item is recommended and at least miserable to see please say yes so in the board packet there's the preliminary budget the final of dot or a recommended final budget will be coming to you on June 12th we're recommending authorisation requesting authorization to expend up to 30% of next year's projected budget prior to June 12th when the board adopts that final budget for this current here good for next year so sorry Jimmy to recent cash okay manager I will move that we because I did I actually did that sorry Peter I will go we go okay so we have a
077motion by mr. pollow's a second by mr. Ashe Mead all in favor please say aye any opposed the chair both I and the motion passes we will move on to termination and non-renewal of probationary teaching contract and again we have mr. Holt II thank you we have two additional probationary non-renewals that we're requesting authorization for tonight our requirement is that we notify teachers prior to June 1 of their probationary nine renewals the board took action at the first meeting in May for most of the probationary meals but we have 2 additionals that are added here tonight so we're asking for your authorization on that I'll move the resolution favorite motion by Mizrachi a second by mr. tensing is there any discussion this is a resolution so we will pull the board miss Cole aye mr.
078tensing mr. ash made by miss Rocky hi mr. Paulus odd and the chair votes aye and the motion passes thank you since we have tabled everything else with someone like tomato I'm sure I move to adjourn we have a motion by mr. Paulus a second by mrs. Cole all in favor please say aye so any posts the chair both aye we are adjourned