The Board of Education Meeting of December 17, 2025

001Good evening and thank you for your patience. I'd like to call the Wednesday, December 17th, 2025 board of education regular meeting to order and I will lead us in the pledge. Please stand and to the republic for it standy for all. >> All right, item 1.3 on our agenda is our superintendent update. I'm going to turn things over to M Fox. >> All right. Hi, good evening everyone. Um and thank you for your patience as we um set up for this evening. For those of you who are joining us virtually and even though those of you who are here in pres in person, we have two different setups. The projector system and sound for the room um um had a malfunction during uh Dr. Nover's uh assembly that she had earlier. So we tried to

002scramble and use technology in order to make this meeting work tonight. So thank you everybody. Thank you for uh helping out in your patience. First of all, happy Hanukkah to everybody to all who celebrate. Wishing you the light, hope, and and joy of this season. We are proud to celebrate the um students who um I want you to pay attention to this number. We had 44 Brookside students who achieved commanding on the New York State NISLAT exam. That's outstanding. It's the highest level of proficiency on the exam. Congratulations to our English language learners. And this is Brookside. So that's outstanding. Uh we're uh we happen to have the Brookside principal here this evening with us. And I know she's especially proud. Uh thank you all who attended our um Saturday explore and learn session. Um,

003the holiday cookie decorating, crafts making, and interactive tabletop activities from Westchester Children's Museum made it a very special day. During the National Honor of Code Week, AMD students visited Claremont and Park School to support coding activities. And again, I want to thank our high school students for helping make that happen and the support of everyone for that. Um and AMD I am so proud of it being passed on Nicole again role modeling for our younger students. Um First Steps held its Festival of Lights celebration which is absolutely adorable. Students uh who are in the First Steps program enjoyed Hanukkah stories, explored Korean holiday traditions and decorated a festive tree and so much more. We want to give a huge kudos to our AMD cast and crew of Susicle Jr. on an outstanding performance last week.

004Um we um Park School students are celebrating the spirit of Hanukkah this week as well. Our students read wonderful stories about the holiday and then got created by making drreidles out of recycled milk cartons. Right. AMD students from Mr. Morrison's instrument repair club, which I still think is such an amazing thing that Austining has. That's such a such an amazing thing. It is. It's so true. They held a wait for it. They held a session for music teachers, educators, my AMD students, well, Dr. Nover's AMDs are our AMD students um at the New York State School Musical Association conference with that's an outstanding achievement. So congratulations on that. Roosevelt School held a leadership assembly focusing on leadership and responsibility and the assembly centered on the themes of responsibility and support. I thank Judge Vanessa Harris

005who attended and shared how she serves on for our community. Um I want to share my superintendence update this evening with a variety of our student groups. I know our board of education always wants to hear directly from our students. So this evening we have two very special student groups. We have our AMD student groups and the Austining High School human rights club. So without further ado, I invite Dr. Nober and her team of AMD student leaders to the podium for their presentation. Thank you so much, Superintendent Fox Alter, members of the board of education, and all of our administrators and families who are here. So, I love that I see our families of photos. You could send those to me. Um, I think that your update was such a wonderful segue into the absolutely

006incredible things that are happening here at AMD that are not only led by our staff and our community, but specifically by our students. and we are so proud. Um I have always said Ruse grows leaders and AMD leaders rock. So you're going to hear about the many ways in which they shine. One of aspect of our long range plan is relevant learning. So when we think about our student leadership experiences, these are a critical component of their overall development especially during adolescence. The sixth, seventh, and eighth grade years of a child's life are critical in their development. And actually um the only time that their brain development matches adolescence is in infancy. So the more that we can provide our students and all the support that we receive from the district and board to bring

007these opportunities to life really um is highlighted tonight. I did want to ground us in our action plan because the work of our student leaders really lives through the work that we do day in and day out here at AMD. And when we think really specifically about building a culture of um a sense of belonging and a culture of academic excellence, students are doing this through their leadership and they feel a sense of belonging by their engagement with the many activities that we have to offer. And tonight we will hear from just a snapshot of the experiences and leadership groups on our campus. So without further ado, I am actually going to turn it over uh to Zeb who is going to kick us off with a studentfounded club. Hi, my name is Zeb and

008I'm the founder and leader of the AMD Star Tennis Club. It was my vision last year to create a tennis club since there's no modified tennis. I received great support from Dr. Novver and Mr. Hawk in the creation of this club and I have led it and coached the kids in it since last fall. Currently, Miss McCabe has been the supervisor and previously our supervisors include Miss Ward and Miss Pleski. Many of the kids are beginners, although some are more advanced. What I love about this club is how we are giving kids access to tennis who normally wouldn't have the chance to play. We do drills, technique practice, and games. Annabelle and I will now talk about the student council. My name is um in the student council we meet a month at lunch. We

009work on different ways to improve the school environment fun activities and different events. Some of these events this year include breast cancer awareness day where we give students bra to support the breast cancer awareness and community where we raised $700 for eighth grade event. We are currently in the middle of winter spirit week at stand by the house. >> Today was candy cane day where we gave out candy canes at lunch and kids wore red and white. Tomorrow will be o pride day where the eighth grade band walked around the school celebrating the winter and fall athletes and students will wear a attire. As the year progresses, the student council will continue to make AMD a better place. We will now hand it over to Ryan and Henry at the instrument repair club. >> Good

010evening. My name is Henry Sylvester. I am a member of the instrument repair club here in the instrument repair club is a is a star program that runs on Wednesdays from 2:44 to 3:45 p.m. Our mission is repair and save school instruments. While typically broken instruments are sent out of repair shop, which takes a long time for students to get their instruments back, we do quick fixes, which gets our students back to playing within a matter of days. In order for this to happen, we have four levels of repairs and we train our sixth graders who just joined its club to be able to become efficient repair technicians, save us more time and money. Um recently this past month we invited to present at the NISMA winter conference in rochester New York which my peer

011R on the trip we presented to more than a full room about 100 people and did two examples of simple affairs such as fixing a slip strip and pulling off. We also talked about how we were saving the district a ton of money and saving students last time for the instrument having to be sent out. We were prepared then have more time to play music including the performance. The presentation went well with no app and there was a lot of engagement from the audience and people enjoyed the presentation. I'll now turn it over to Maya and Olivia equity leaders. Can I just take a pause for a moment? I want everyone to think about that for a moment. Two of our AMD students had over a hundred adults at their session and they presented. That's

012pretty amazing. That is pretty amazing. >> Hi, my name is Equity is a club where we focus on making sure everyone feels safe and appreciated. The main focus of equity is making sure everyone gets what they need. A perfect example of equity um is this photo where it shows one kid needs something different from the other two. If you look at the equity side, the child gets what they need, but everyone doesn't. Uh because that's what equity is. It's not equality. Equity is what everyone needs by themselves. this year in equity, one of our goals was to promote cultural heritage. One reason that we've promoted this is because so many cultures and people get overlooked. And by talking about cultural heritages, we get to share about different places in their heritage. One way we have

013done this is by having the announcement team read about the heritage over the PA system. We are also teaming up with the high school have black heritage. One thing that we've been talking about this year um in equity is microaggression. Microaggressions are indirect or subtle discriminatory comments towards a specific group of our population. These comments include talking about your race, color, or ethnicity. While the proper definition states that these comments are unintentional, they do stem from bias and when repeated over time, they contribute to a negative school environment. Now we will Oh, now Annabelle will be speaking about your book. >> Good evening everyone. I'm the representative of the AMD AMD Yearbook club on behalf of Nicole who could not. Uh the yearbook club meets every Tuesday. The club helps students develop a wide range

014of range of skills like teamwork and collaboration. Students in yearbook club do things such as taking photos, making posters, and formatting. Yearbook club helps create an annual yearbook for the Andy. These are the samples from the past yearbook. We can't we can't wait to see what how this year's yearbook comes out. Now, Nora, Al, Alexa, Adriana, and Maddie will now speak about our announcement. >> Hi, I'm Alexa. >> I'm Nora. And I'm Maddie. >> And we're the morning announcements crew. Um announce announcements is run by us students. In announcements we share things like buses being late, library being open and closed, student equity meetings, and more. Teachers and staff are able to write Dr. Norma an email and she will print it out for us to say on the PA system. Once printed out, there's

015a black bin that all papers go that teachers want us to announce. We then will see them the next morning, look over them, ask any questions, and decide who says what. Once we cover all the information said, either we sign off >> or Dr. Nova will come on and share some information she has as well. Then we sign off. >> A signature sign off is one person will say, "Have a great day and remember >> you are love." >> Go around. But there is one more announcement today. 1 2 3. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Olivia. Happy birthday to you. So thank you all. It is absolutely a huge honor to work with these incredible student leaders and they did this presentation all on their own as well and

016it's just a testament. They practiced, they created everything and this is the work that they're doing day in and day out and it is an honor to work alongside of them. Thank you all for trusting your children to us. >> Thank you. Thank you, Dr. No. Thank you. Thank you. Well done. Right. Yes. Yes. Because we're gonna invite the high school team up. >> Right. Yes. Yes. Or do their homework. Dr. No. Okay. Okay. Ma Agular and then team OS. Good evening board members, parents and students. My name is MNA Aguilar and I am a co advisor to the human rights club. The human rights club has was founded in 2017 and after eight years it continues to grow and remains committed to serving the community. The human rights club mission is to educate and

017raise awareness of past and modern day human rights violation. members participate in conversations and devise ways to be upstandard in our community through panel discussions, community service, cooperation with other clubs and educational trips. I have two members with me today and I really appreciate their help. Um I know they're very busy but um they are here because they are committed. So we have Aiden and we have Ya. Um, thank you, Miss Aguilar, for that. Uh, my name is Aiden Menddees. I am a senior here at Austining High School. And, um, along with thanking you, I'd like to thank all of our wonderful administration staff, especially Dr. Dwey, who isn't here right now, but, you know, tremendous support from all sides of the spectrum. Um, so the human rights club has been up to a lot

018of different things. Uh, particularly with trips and events in and outside of the high school. Uh, in September we had the Anf Frank exhibition at the Center of Jewish History. And the next month after that, we had the Jewish Heritage Museum trip for the Courage to Act Rescue and Denmark event. Um, right after that, we had a guest speaker named Dr. Clemen Low come into one of our meetings virtually uh to speak about his experience surviving the Holocaust uh both in a labor camp and escaping a labor camp and living in the circumstances of a war torn country uh in the midst of one of the most chaotic times in our history. Um by the end of the month of October, we had our viros muertos celebration uh welcoming both members of the club along

019with all students from the school. Um you know keeping a nice open environment from all students, all creeds, all backgrounds. And by the end of November into December, we started our annual toy drive within Padre Hispanos. um you know, giving students an opportunity to connect with local grassroots organizations. Um you know, learning what it's like to give back both in a simple way, putting a toy in a box, as well as, you know, speaking with the people who are setting these boxes up or setting a box up themselves. You know, small ways to introduce them to the world of volunteer work. Um, finally at our most recent event, we had the annual Human Rights Day Assembly featuring our guest speaker Stacy Science along with her son Elliot. Um, this was a woman who directed a

020documentary that was short but powerful. Uh, about 20 minutes but still managed to get featured on HBO. Um, it's a documentary about Elliot's grandfather, uh, Stacy's father, speaking about his experience during World War II surviving the Holocaust and how this young man was able to take this story and turn it from generational trauma into a story of inspiration. taking generational trauma and being able to say, "I may be six years old and 10 years old, but I'm able to learn about something as terrifying as the Holocaust and what it means to starve every day and be beaten by prison guards." You know, being able to know that at such a young age and little by little working yourself up to speak adamantly and openly about these terrible conflicts throughout the world. Um throughout all these

021events we try to keep an open environment to uh like I said before any students that are interested in both human rights conflicts as well as uh just geopolitics all throughout the world. Um our mission is to show people these issues that we have and to not make it about a black and white debate but to open their eyes to a debate and say hey we can recognize all parts of the spectrum and we can respect each other. we can treat each other with civility, you know, have a conversation and shake each other's hands afterwards. So, um, that's all I have to say. Thank you. >> Good evening everybody. My name is Ja and I'm a sophomore at OHS. I will be talking about some upcoming events that we have in Human Rights Club. On

022January 27th, 2026, students will attend a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which focus on the work of John Wilson, who is a black American artist whose work reflects themes of humanity, justice, and the civil rights movement, and the witnessing humanity exhibition as well. In March, we'll host our annual women's history month celebration that Miss Agalar is planning right now. And we will on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. Members will also participate in the 22nd students institution on human rights at Iona University. In May, students will visit the 911 memorial museum and the students will also attend the National Immigration Museum. Thank you, Miss Agular. I I just want to thank you for your leadership, for your dedication. Um it is readily apparent for those of us who you know are in the district

023the level of involvement you have for our students at the high school. It's just outstanding and we are deeply appreciative of it. And if these two young people are any examples of our students and population, which I know they are, that I'm just so proud and and the future seems very bright. Thank you for your well articulated statements. Thank you for all the work you're doing. That's a very cool t-shirt, by the way. Um, and just thank you. Thank you. >> Really? I love it. Okay. >> Thank you. Are they for sale? Anyway, sorry. Okay. We'll talk we'll talk later. We'll talk later. Okay. >> Thank you. >> Okay. All right. So, yeah. Yeah. So just a brief um for everyone on the agenda tonight, you uh you might have seen that part of my

024comments this evening we have to deal with a a budget update. So it's just a very brief overview regarding process not necessarily numbers but you know given the input and reflection upon last year's and certain changes working with um uh Alita McCoy who I deeply appreciate the um conversations and thoughts how do we streamline how do we make this better? So, we made some changes based on certain things and as the board is well aware, this has been an iterative long-term process just to make things uh a little a little tighter along the way. Um, we're very aware that we were able to fix our position control system. So, I want to thank Dr. Mara for that. We were creating a more accurate um section development process for all uh of our schools. I want

025to thank Maria and Kim for their work on those areas. it it we want to get clearer forecasting with as much important data as possible. There are complexities involved in this. So that's why it's a comprehensive process changes for this year. So this year um Alita and I sat down and um thought about what can we do to make this um more transparent, more accurate. So, we started by having all of our instructional administrators, principles, and directors share at a PLC um what everyone's budget goals were. It was a great morning where everyone got to speak and they got to speak according to what they fall saw as a must-have, meaning what's a requirement under the regs or what's a requirement based on contract. Uh what was important to have and everyone understood and we

026developed a collective vision about the way we were going. The next layer added to change our budget meetings which we call court. It stands for central office review team but it's when the executive cabinet sits down with each administrator. Typically an hour this year they've been taking two hours two and a half hours because this year we gave all of our administrators access in windcap which is our budget management system basically to take a look at three years worth of data and spending trends along the way. So we're trying to identify all of that and then another important component associated with this has been um trying to identify if you have a cost what's the revenue stream you know the general fund is what what we vote on however and again it gives me another

027opportunity to thank the board about the resolution about the um mental health grant as well as the New York Year up grant they're in special funds now so we spent a significant amount of time taking a hold of an FTE for example that means a full-time equivalency let's say of a a guidance counselor and this is how granular these conversations are going so we basically can say well a 0.1 of that is attributed to this fund and Alita has coded them all so everyone can see them 0.1 is now of a consolidated grants application so we can then actually figure out that 70 is in the general fund so we we did all of that I know my principles. I'm looking over there. They're they're smiling. It was different this year, right? Yeah. There you

028go. Okay. They they're being very nice and smiling. Um we were there for about like I said a length of time and everyone left with a little bit of homework, but what the feedback that we heard was that everyone left were like, "Wow, I never looked at it this way. This has been very helpful." And by expanding um giving them more agency actually over their budget codes, etc. um and understanding how things are done. Um I think it's added to the process this year. This will lead us to our budget workshop on a Saturday and this year the changes that we're recommending will be that each principal and I will be with them. We'll be able to speak about their schools. They'll be able to talk about you know this is AMD. We have X

029number of teachers, X number of uh students. These are number of sections that operate here. these are the programs and then to give the board an executive summary if you will of places where there would be a big change in cost either or a change in program so the board can see all of that. Um we're used to doing that on that day with some of the directors but this gives a more comprehensive background and approach for everyone to understand things. Um, and then we also will be including in that the things that the administrators had asked for but couldn't make the budget based on things like the tax cap or what our aid will be or different things like that. So the board can basically take a look at that. I've asked the administrators

030when they looked at things like what's a mustave and must have fall as under what's required under the regulations what's required by contract what's required um by our cse and then what's important to have there could be very important things but um they might not be driven by a state regulation but we feel here based on local community input and and from the board that they're very important so I do want to Thank the entire it's been a different process this year. Malita, go ahead. >> Um the the other thing that we did the um this year that's brand new is we're having follow-up court meetings um in January. >> So um >> did we tell them? I think they're hearing that now. >> No, no, I sent an email. So we're having follow-up court

031meetings letting them go back into WCAP and make adjustments based on our first conversations. And um hopefully the meetings will be 15 minutes. That's what they're scheduled for, >> right? >> Um but that's something new that we've never done before. >> Right. Okay. So again and iterative and if we remember last year sometime on that particularly during that Saturday budget session um we were able to identify the board might have had a question on a particular expense and then it wasn't necessarily coded exactly. Maybe some people changed it in Excel but didn't change it in WindCap. So, we want to be very clear on that day because the board is going to get everything ahead of time that when you come up with something that's coded that we can make sure it's attributed in a

032way that has transparency and accuracy to make that day. So, the board gets a full and the community gets a full picture of what we're doing. So, um I want to thank the triple and double time that everyone around the table has been committing to this and um but the feedback we've received is that people Kim Walked out this is really good. I we people have learned a lot in this process. So, we're hopefully the board of education because this is one of the most important jobs the board has. uh we are going to streamline and and make the experience um in a different frame and uh have a a better experience on that Saturday work. Um we will find out the state aid ratio a state aid January >> January 20th >> right >>

033according to as >> okay so by that point we'll have some ingredients to share with the board our health um insurance the um the um state aid preliminary projections um and Dr. has uh and again I want to thank him for all that position control we he was able actually right now roll over this current staff with every single contractual projection for next year in it so we'll have that accurate piece of information too for the board so I want to thank everybody for that but that's how we're approaching it um this year um so without further ado before I introduce our student exopicio board member Owen and uh Brennan, first I want to uh uh share our heartfelt congratulations to Owen who got into Georgetown based on early action. So congratulations Owen. I'm not

034violating Furpa because I did ask you if I could share that. I had Nicole ask you. >> Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. Bigger. Yeah. >> Well, it's a wonderful achievement. So, congratulations. >> Thank you. take it away. >> So, good evening everyone. We've had a busy couple weeks, so I'm going to give a couple shout outs at the high school and some updates on my work. So, congratulations to our National Honor Society inductees who were inducted on Thursday, December 4th. A special thanks to all of our uh high school volunteers and the adviserss, Mr. Cook and Miss Love, who helped organize and facilitate the event. Thanks to Miss Amato, Miss O, and all of our skip students who helped organize and facilitate a clothing drive uh for students. And congratulations to our senior

035Ti Mackire uh for earning a full scholarship to Vanderbilt University through the QuestBridge scholarship. >> A full scholarship. >> And then uh shout out to Miss Brahas and her student leaders for participating in the changemakers program. And thanks to Miss Nars for organizing the virtual author visit with Alan Gratz to celebrate inclusive schools week last week. And then we had a proud moment last week at the lower Hudson Valley MBK summit. Uh fellow Aiden who just he's still here and um had an impactful panel uh on what's my brand and fellow Malachi Dale shined as a star panelist discussing the effects of social media on students. >> Congratulations. And then Claire Schnecker, who um her dad isn't here today, but uh is up for the girls basketball player of the week. Um so I think

036you could still >> Yeah, we all got to vote. >> Yes, I think you could still vote um for for her this week. Um there the team is also still undefeated with wins against Eastchester and Gley and they're in Florida uh this week and early next week to in a tournament. Uh, the New York State Sports Writers and Coaches Organization for Girl Sports named OHS senior Paige Pena to All State. Wow. And then congrats to Jonathan Abzun who placed first in the Com Long Island Wrestling Club. And then shout out to both of our bowling teams who are still undefeated after last week's wins against John J. Y >> and then to give some updates on uh the work through my role. Um added last week we added to the monthly student council meeting agenda

037an item that allows students to bring up concerns or issues to me at every meeting and this helps me ga gather a comprehensive representation of all students at the high school which is really the description of the role. So that's very good. Uh additionally Miss Prior Gro misshorn, Miss Castiano, and Mr. Durand Durandio have been coordinating a meeting for our OHS science research mentors and Roosevelt STEM students. And on Wednesday, January 7th, we will have an in-person meetup. Uh the session will include OHS students talking about their research and Roosevelt students participating in a question formulation activity within science to gauge their interest in the field. And then Dr. Barbback and Miss Barro and myself are meeting next week to discuss uh applications for the next science research liaison. Applications closed on Monday and we

038are looking forward to making the decision on naming that the next leazison and I'll be sure to keep the board updated on that. And then my goal on on building the collegian through our schools is also progressing. The fourth grade science fair will have OHS science research students in attendance and other STEM students from the high school in attendance. And Miss Shamsi actually um just contacted me to get high school volunteers for an event they're planning in February. So I plan to reach out I plan to reach out to other buildings as well in the future to class. And lastly on Monday I participated in an advocacy session with uh Senator Shelley Mayor run by the Westchester Putinham School Boards Association and it was a really cool opportunity to connect with fellow student board members

039around the region and hear some of the different experiences. And overall I can say that what we have done so far despite our own internal uncertainty is definitely high caliber and um so I wanted to thank the board superintendent and all the administration and everyone else who's helped for their support this year and their efforts. So thank >> thank you Owen. >> Yes. Um thank you Owen and I also want to make sure I thank all of the other students who presented in uh Miss Fox Alter's update. One of the things that we love the most sitting at the board table is hearing directly uh from the students about how the programs they participate impact their lives. So um we always appreciate the update. So thank you so much to our OSF human rights club

040and our AMD student leaders for um contributing so wonderfully for our meeting today in addition to Owen of course who's more of a regular contributor for us. Um I'm thankful nonetheless. All right. Um, for folks watching at home, um, you already know that we have a trustee who's attending remotely. Um, but those in in the room with us don't. So, we do have one trustee attending remotely. So, as I take a role for votes, um, I'm going to take one role here in person and then one role for members who are attending virtually, which today is just Cath uh, Katherine Crossing. And Katherine, I'm gonna ask that when you vote, you can just uh raise your hand. That way, we don't have to deal with the microphone. And um I will register your vote out

041loud and we can see you here. Um so we can all see what's happening. And I say that now because I'd like to take a motion to move up item 4.1. Second. >> Thank you. Um so let me any discussion of uh at all those in the room all in favor >> I opposed abstensions those attending virtually all in favor I see Katherine's raising her digital hand so we'll let the record show that Katherine is voting in favor and now I will take a vote on item 4.1. Thank you. Um so item 4.1 is a resolution regarding the Hilda Bonav distinguished service award. Uh any discussion? Those in person uh in uh who are in favor? >> I I >> opposed abstensions. those attending virtually. Uh I see Katherine raising her hand for to indicate

042an I in favor. We'll let the record show that and then the motion passes. Um for this item uh which we just passed, I'd like to turn things over briefly to Jared M. Uh thank you everyone. Um tonight I have the distinct honor of presenting helping to present uh the Hilda Bonavis Distinguished Service Award to Javier Badal. Um Javier has worked for the district for about 25 years. I'm correct in saying that right. And Javier is a dedicated employee. YES, >> I can say without question that Javier is a dedicated employee who is well deserving of this award. Um, every time I've ever asked Javier to make the extra effort or go out of his way to do anything, um, he's always there, including even tonight. Um, tonight he worked overtime over at Claremont helping

043out when we had an absence. He was also here this past Sunday helping to clear the snow from the parking lots. And that's the type of person that Javier is. Um so Javier has a has a catchphrase or a saying whenever he's redented with a task or challenge and that is it's too easy. He says that all the time. I want Javier to know that it's not going to be too easy to replace you. So congratulations your retirement. Thank you. >> Let me put you on the spot. >> Thank you very much. Um, my pleasure to work for school for 25 years. my kid brother from high school. >> Thank you. God bless you. >> Have your board deeply appreciates your contribution to our school community. He is a ray of light. um if you

044if you get a chance to to intersect with him. Um at this time, I'd like to make a motion to move up item 7.1. >> Second. Uh for those in favor, uh any discussion or those in person, sorry. All in favor? >> I oppose abstensions and attending virtually. Those in favor I and we'll let the record indicate that Katherine is voting in favor. Now I'll take a motion on the resolution itself. Got a fabulous tag team over there. Thank you. Uh 7.1 resolution regarding professional staff tenure appointments. Uh any discussion here in person or virtually? Um all those here in person uh in favor >> I >> opposed abstensions and those attending virtually and we'll let the record indicate Kevin's hand is raised in favor. Um so what we just passed was our resolution regarding

045professional staff tenure. >> Okay, great. This virtual thing that's got me a little clunky. Um, so at this time I'd like to turn things over to Don uh to talk about our tenure recipient. >> Good evening everyone. We have three uh tenure recipients tonight. The first one I'm going to pass the baton to Miss Ordus, our principal of Brookside. Uh Jen Guzman, can you come come on up Jen? Thank you Lucia. Good evening, Superintendent Fox Alter, members of the board of education, and members of our community. Tonight is my privilege to recognize a teacher whose impact is felt every day amongst both students and colleagues. We are here to celebrate Jen Gooseman and her well-earned tenure. The irony is that even though we are stopping to acknowledge Jen tonight in front of an audience, Jen

046is the type of person who would prefer that we really not. You see, Jen doesn't seek the spotlight. She stays far from it. In fact, she kept tonight's tenure appointment a very quiet secret, even from the closest of her co-workers. But that's just Jen's modest way. And while she does not draw attention to herself, her presence is actually deeply felt in our school community, particularly on our dual language team. Jen shines with kindness, consistency, and unwavering dedication to our students. One of her greatest strengths is the warm, genuine rapport she builds with children. Children feel safe in her classroom. They feel heard. They know they matter. Whether through a calm word of encouragement, a thoughtful check-in, or in the patience she teaches with, Jen creates a space where students can grow both academically and personally.

047What truly sets her apart is her desire to keep improving. Our director, Nancy de la Cruz, recently described Jen as a quote quiet force. Despite her strengths, Jen is a reflective practitioner who is receptive to feedback and seeks out new strategies, wanting to improve. In fact, she recently became a math lead teacher. Not because she thinks she knows all of the answers or has them, but because she wants to gain more answers. And as important, she wants to share those answers with colleagues in service of their growth as well and sub subsequently that of students. This sets her on a positive trajectory to become an exceptional educator with a very bright future. Jen approaches her practice with humility and purpose, which speaks volumes of the person who she is. She does this work not for

048recognition, but because she genuinely cares about her students and her craft. Tenure is our way of saying to you, Jen, whether you want to be seen or not, we see you. We value you. We trust you. It is an acknowledgement of your professionalism and integrity and the lasting impact that you have on our Brookside students daily. Thank you for being a steady, compassionate, quiet force in our school. We are fortunate to have you. On behalf of our former Brookside principal, Dr. Dilly, our assistant principal, Dr. Delesz, our director of multilingual language programs, Nancy de la Cruz, and our entire Brookside community. Congratulations, Jen, on this well-deserved achievement. Thank you, Morg. Well said. So, this is something I've not done in my 19-year career. Uh we have two tenure recipients. One who one who was actually

049tenured um and approved by the board already but the reason we did not bring her to the meeting was because her sister is being recommended for tenure and earning tenure tonight. So we have sisters who are here and their family. We wanted the family to only have to come once. So we moved the meeting to tonight. Um Miss Fzine Shamzy who is the our principal of Claremont is not able to attend tonight. So Mr. Shave is here um to speak on Miss Alejandro's behalf. So I am gonna have so Jovana and Janali are both here and we are gonna have Mr. Shave and Dr. Nova speak on their behalf. But Mr. Shave is going to go first. >> So I'm going to ask both Yep. There you go. to come on up because this is

050a unique opportunity for us to honor you both. So thank you so much, >> Mr. Chave. It's all yours. >> Thank you. Good evening, superintendent Mary Fox Alter, board president, trustees, colleagues, and families. My name is Lu Charvet, proud assistant principal at Claremont School. Sorry, Miss Shamsi couldn't be here tonight, so she's really, really sorry, but she did prepare the following speech. As we would like to celebrate you, Jana, a phenomenal teacher who's even attending tonight. Tonight we have the honor of recognizing a teacher whose work truly embodies the heart of our dual language program and the mission of Claremont school. Javon Alejandro, our third grade oneway dual language teacher has created a far more than a classroom. She has built a home for our English language learners. A place where every student feels value,

051seen, and capable of achieving great things. From the moment you step into Jovanna's room, you see the care, intention, and love she pours into her work. The warm rock, the rocking chair, the inviting reading corner. These are not just decorations. There are symbols of the relationship she builds every day. She embraces the backgrounds of her students and families, making culture, language, and identity central to learning. She sets clear expectations, differentiates thoughtfully, and connects outcomes to what matters most to her students. And her students feel this in the most genuine ways. One former student shared that Miss Alejandro is always so kind and helps them reach their goals and even gave them the chance to go to the movies for the very first time where they ate so much popcorn and played games together. A current

052a current stu student told us she helps us with our math work and help us create Jack and Annie or Annie and Jack and Annie books. She's a great teacher. Others simply say she makes learning fun and helps them make hard things feel possible. These small powerful reflections show exactly who Jovanna is to her students. A teacher who teaches with both skill and the heart. Javanna's instruction exemplifies the very best of what we hope to see in a well- taught classroom. She links purpose to passion. Her expectations and explanations are clear, rich, and beautifully scaffolded. Students are intellectually engaged, challenged, and supportive and they rise because she believes in them. Our classroom is a place for children to extend each each other's thinking, use academic language with confidence and take ownership of their learning. Professionally,

053she's a model of collaboration and flexibility. Whether navigating interrupted instruction, gathering resources, organizing small groups, she's always finding a way to ensure her students receive what they need. She seeks support often, works closely with colleagues and contributes to our community. She even spent her summer planning her third grade level team and supporting the summer learning because her commitment goes far, far beyond the school year. Yavana has become a true leader in a dual language program, championing trans languaging, supporting ELA from a bilingual lens, and guiding her grade in our building with wisdom and heart as a future leader. For all of these reasons and for the quiet, extraordinary acts of care she knows and shows every single day, it is my great way, excuse me, a great joy to celebrate her tenure tonight. She has

054earned it through dedication, courage, compassion, and unwavering belief in her students. Congratulations, Joanna. We are so lucky you chose Claremont. Even luckier that you continue to help shape who we are. WOO! OVER. >> I just think this is so awesome. So, uh, good evening everyone. It is my honor to speak on behalf of Miss Donnelly Alejandro whose dedication, professionalism, and compassion have made a lasting impact not only on AMD but our entire school district. Jonnaly came to us with seven years of experience ranging from preventative, residential, and macrolevel care. From working with adjud adjudicated youth in our juvenile justice system to providing preventative services through multi-istic therapy models, Jonnaly has consistently demonstrated her ability to meet our students and families where they are and guide us towards growth. She began her career here as a

055substance abuse counselor and that is how we first met. Offering parent training in both English and Spanish and has continued to leverage her social work skills to build trust and accessibility with our family. Over her during her time with us, she's shown tremendous growth improving all timeliness of our special education processes, social histories, documentation, and ensuring that all of our students receive the services that they need. But what distinguishes Jonnaly is her ability to follow through and connect with families and community services. She identifies students needs and ensures that our families are linked to the right resources, strengthening the safety net around them. And her colleagues and administrators recognize her responsiveness, empathy, and strong follow through. Equally important is Jonnal's judgment in all types of situations. And at the middle school, we have all types

056of situations. Whether counseling, group therapy, moments of crisis or emergency, she demonstrates a calm and sound decision-making, and a deep commitment to student well-being. Consulting all of her colleagues and demonstrating humility, professionalism, and most importantly, care in her work. Not only has she impacted our individual students, but she continues to strengthen our school community by building meaningful relationships with our families and staff, leveraging the resources available, sharing her expertise, and bridging cultural awareness, modeling empathy and care, and responding when we need her most. In every way, Jonnaly embodies the qualities that we seek in a tenured social worker. And it is my honor to speak on behalf of AMD, Mr. Hawk, and Dr. Lopez to present you with tenure this evening. Your presence in our district is not only a benefit to our students and

057families today, but for the generations of students to come. We love you. Got to get moment. You got to You got to capture that one, right? Fun fact, I had the pleasure of have worked with the two sisters, one here at AMD and the other. SO, >> congratulations to this evening's tenure recipients. Um on behalf of the board um we are >> and congratulations to all the families who are here. >> Yes, it's so lovely to see such a wonderful showing of support between family and colleagues. Um and we're so grateful to our staff who decide to hitch their wagon to Austin and can really call the call us home. Um and we deeply appreciate that. Um, and this is also usually a point in the meeting where I say you're welcome to stay. >>

058Yes, >> but you are also welcome to leave. All right, everybody's welcome to stay, but you are welcome to leave except for some of our audience members who be. All right. Uh, next on our agenda is our work session item and also our equity item 2.1, a construction update. So, I'll turn things over to Mary. Okay. So, uh we are uh delighted this evening to have our um architects um from CPL um Aris um contracting here, Paul and Crew and Jared Vance to speak about the um capital project to speak about projects that were funded by our bond as well as ones that are done through our um district funds. So, um I invite the team uh the these individuals a leader will say we we we meet with them uh oh gosh it looks

059like once a week sometimes twice a week on a regular basis which uh um we're thrilled with. I think when um uh when u Dave our lead architect in this comes up and he speaks you'll understand from the get-go why this team is so important. We passed one of the most historic bonds um in Westchester County history, $210 million. A very ambitious project to renovate a beautiful old church, um building a new uh um school on this campus, renovations to Claremont, adding a CTE and STEM addition to the high school. So, this is a very very ambitious project that requires an awful lot of attention. And I had a call recently from a reporter who was like, "Well, I know this was passed a year and a half ago. Like, can I come in and

060see what work you've done?" And I turned to Dave and I was like, "Dave, how do how do how do we give language to the hours we all spend on all of this together? So hopefully tonight it will give the board and the community an understanding of the background and the work. And the one thing I will tell before a shovel hits the ground in this project, you have to pay attention to every single detail, every single one of them because that ensures this is a public works project. It ensures the transparency. We can only spend what the taxpayers approved on this. Our goal, we heard it from this board of education, is to maximize our aid on this. So again, there's a lot of attention to this project. I want to thank once again

061Alita McCoy for her oversight and stewardship and fiscal awareness and our partners and clearly um our Jared Mance who is um he loves projects like this and um it it shows in all in all the work and we are just very grateful Jared for your work and I am I share Alita sentiment. We're very proud of the team we have assembled here. is a great group of professionals who um were spending a lot of time and a lot of information on a lot of really important details. So go >> thank you Superintendent Fox alter. Thank you board members of the board and the community for inviting us back to give a update on some of the exciting projects that are either in construction or in design and planning around your district. Let's get started. Um

062we're going to start off first talking about the capital projects. These are projects that come from budgetary appropriations and capital reserves. It's not part of the bond. Um we'll start first with the Brookside classroom addition and fire alarm work there. Um there's a significant addition going on in the back of Brookside right now. It's going to be nine classrooms with an elevator, support spaces for the staff, bathrooms, and upgrades to the fire alarm system there. Um that project is coming along. Concrete foundations have been poured. The slab on the gr ground level has been poured. The elevated slab to the first floor is also uh just been poured recently. The steel is going up and walls are are moving along the masonry. So, it's very exciting. We'll show you some pictures of that in a

063second. Um, so if you've heard some of the construction work back there, I know that the team has been working very hard to make sure the impact is minimal on the education and find people working on those books. Uh, the next project we'll be talking about is the AMD driveway and cooling project. Um, the driveway is the new access road that's coming off Stormytown. The driveway is going to provide a much needed emergency access for the for AMD and Claremont be able to get emergency vehicles in and out and provide a new uh an additional way to uh access the campus over there. So that is uh contracts are awarded contractors breaking ground and moving ahead with that. It's very exciting. And then in AMD there's a cooling project underway. So contractors are um working

064bringing piping uh wiring right now over at AMD. So uh very exciting to get air conditioning cooling over in that school. >> Yes. U and the final project here with that with the um capital projects is the high school door project. Um Jared has been working with the vendor getting pricing on that. uh that's being developed and coming along. Uh there will be some overlap with some of the work as you see when we get into the work that's going to happen at the high school. So, you know, how we phase and work out the high school door project with phasing of the bond project is to be determined. But hang on for that and we'll give you more updates as we uh as that develops. So, let's start looking a little bit at Brookside.

065Um you can see the classrooms here are in pink. On the the ground floor level, there are six classrooms and an elevator, some support spaces. Uh, and that's great because you can walk right out of the the end of the corridor there at Brookside and access some new classrooms. Going to be nice, bright, and open for the kids. And then on the grade level, which because of the slope in the back of the school, we're able to get three more classrooms in there. Uh, and that's going to be fantastic also because there's a good amount of storage that's being provided on that ground floor level. And if you've been over there, you know that storage is a big necessity at Brookside. So, some fantastic educational spaces and some fantastic, you know, just support spaces for

066the staff and for the uh the children over there. Uh some photos of the Brookside classroom edition. Big photo on the right. Oh, Fred, do you want to talk about the uh addition of the work? My name is Fred Ehard. I'm Fred Everhard, a project manager with Aerys Contracting where the CM represents the district. Dave mentioned some of the items that I had written down already. Over the past few weeks, the slab on grade was see this picture elevated slab which is now poured. Unfortunately, it's completely covered up with blankets, so you can't get up there concrete yet. But what we did see looks great. Uh completed the installation of the 10H CMU. If you look up by the library, there are some issues that we found of course circumstances. All that has been resolved

067raid and everything backing up there tomorrow. In addition to what Dave mentioned, metal stud training has started in the basement. So the classrooms and the bathrooms are all getting scamples going up to the mason on this floor in the picture. So they can lay the rest of the block and finish that up. So we can set the roof and the related plumbing and any work will start right after >> oh mechanical electrical I want to add for a moment I want to first of all thank for the um first of all the oversight the great attention and these bi-weekly reports that we're receiving I've been able to share them with the board and very importantly you know if you take a look at the scope of this project and the cost associated this project. This

068is a major capital project that in many school districts would would be the project. This is just one of many here. And um I do appreciate the great attention to detail um the real specifics that we get the when we come up with a problem or an issue that we have to resolve. But importantly, really importantly, at a recent meeting with our teachers and principal from this building, they find no disruption to instruction. There's no disruption to sound. It is done. We've had outdoor. We had a turkey trot there with the the almost 700 kids in that building. And while at the same time, and I was watching, I was looking at the, you know, protection, the kids, everything. When I walk over there, I do walk that site. So, I just want to thank

069you for that level of oversight. um and the information on it and um moving on budget and on time are so far the really good things. So, thank you. >> Let's move forward to the AMD project, but you want to give an update on AMD project. AMD just got underway uh physically speaking um on the cooling side of things. The staging area and the construction management trailer which is power trailer are all done and set. The fencing was delivered tomorrow. The conx and fencing are are going in. I just mentioned they're installing hangers and piping for the chilled water system in the first floor room fan in the chiller room, the boiler room, the electrical world and storage room and more hangers are going into hallways upcoming in coming weeks. The same thing is going

070to continue. Piping is going to be delivered and more work is going to be done in the corridors so that we can get a lot of the support work done before summer and that we can get in here today. all the major equipment um rooftop units, the chiller is all ordered and so far everything should be on time so we can call the milestone site work. Um silk fence was delivered that are started tomorrow and trees should start coming down. >> Sure. Uh we we had a a a small banner made up and last week we put the sign up. It has a QR code on it to encourage people to uh uh connect to the website so that we can give updates there. But we did that just so that people are going to

071start seeing the trees coming down and things are going to change over there in Stormytown Road. So we put that sign up just make people aware of what's happening and why it's happening to help that. I also want to add too that uh all the work that's going on for the piping A andd here for the cooling is going to be done second shift during the school year. They come in and work. They're here now working. But that and that'll continue through this entire school year until June. I want to steal your thunder, Mary. It is a tribute to these gentlemen that the AMD work is going on second shift. The next day, school's able to get back in session. Minimal disruption. We're doing a great job. Just a photo of some of the layown

072area that's happening behind here. Uh there's going to be more site work going on in the future. So uh this fencing and silt work uh silk fencing is going up. So it's going to be an exciting time as we move forward with these projects. Right. Let's talk a little bit about the bond project. Um you can see here um we have them laid out in phases. Some of you are familiar with the phases zero and five. Phase zero is really a preparation uh phase to get the work started over at the high school and what is being called the CTE edition. Talk a little bit about that. Uh I think there's the board's familiar there's some contracts that are being awarded uh to get that going. once that's awarded. So, the the phase zero scope,

073uh we'll we'll talk about that in a second, but it's going to be some demolition and preparation of site work uh to get the area ready, get some fencing in, get some um construction staging areas set up for the contractors. >> Yes. So, uh as Mary's alluding to, there's state historic preservation office. Um a lot of review by them. Um this is a very significant site. So all the work that's being done is being reviewed very carefully by the state. Uh our firm is taking great pains to make sure that we're um meeting the needs of the community and respecting uh you know the neighborhoods and the the context around. So we're very pleased that the state historic preservation office has given their support and has approved the work so far and everything's looking very

074good as we move forward. You know, it's you might find it odd that we started with a zero um because we did we started with phase one and then needed a preparatory phase. So that happened before phase one because the importance of phase zero is that we're getting the demolition and creating the the site plan and the staging area to feed the phase one that's going to go on which is the locker room and CTV edition. So to there's not a lot of room on that campus. So we have to create an almost like an offsite staging where we can have the crane, the co concrete trucks, uh the pumps and everything else and load and build that uh phase one that they've been talking about from uh offsite basically and using the church parking

075lot. So, we're going to create a pad to basically uh build the locker room and the CTE edition and back up and then start on the uh the addition itself. So, I'll turn it over to Dave to explain. All this phasing has been a very carefully choreographed kind of ballet uh that we're going through here because of the minimal site, but also to be able to keep the educational processes and to keep the schools operating. um you know there's been a lot of planning on how to get the work done with mineral disruption and I I think it's going to work out well >> and I just want to add that um some of these phasings were done because we wanted to maximize >> um as Alita said so we'll lay this out so phase

076one starts at the high school with the locker room edition over the top of the locker room and the CTE edition next to it where the rectory three and church annex are going to go. Phase two is the music wing in commons also at the high school and you can see that's a little bit down the road but uh the design is starting in January of this year of 2026 excuse me. Phase three is called the CTE renovation and that area takes the church which is over next to the high school and renovates that. And the idea of having that in phase three is that phase one will connect with the CTE addition that church to the high school and then that church will then become part of the high school. Uh phase four is

077a new 78 building and you'll see from the schedule that that design and process programming has been going throughout this whole process. And phase five finally is Claremont renovations and addition. So, um, you know, it's it's a lot of concentrated work at the high school and a lot of very carefully thought out and choreographed work to be able to get the projects done in a correct order. Just uh of significance here is phase zero. So, the contract contract is in front of the board tonight. Um, the contractors are are ready to start their demo in the wintertime. We're going to be looking forward to that happening soon. Phase one is going up to the state education department at the beginning of the year. Uh the significance there is by submitting it to the state education

078department in the beginning of the year, we'll have approval in the spring, be able to bid the project and start construction over the summer. Um I think Paul and Fred will have some things to say about phasing. >> The crit critical nature of phase one is that we're taking over the locker room. So we have to recreate new locker rooms in in the existing build so that you have locker rooms through the years. The other thing is we need to do the abatement that's tied in with the existing locker rooms and the demolition of the existing locker rooms during the summertime periods also. So what that was a multiple meeting negotiation between us, the district and uh CPL on moving that schedule up to try to take advantage of this summer. So, we're we're looking

079to move that up and um basically get this uh bid awarded and be able to start construction um in June, July. Another thing I'd like to point out is that you can see from the bar graph in there's going to be four separate areas of construction going on with this bond project. And these are large projects. So, um, I think you'll see that as work starts to ramp up, there's going to be more and more people, more and more impact on the district, but I think the team is working hard to make sure that it doesn't inconvenience the education and that the schools can still continue to operate, but I want to highlight a little bit what Alita said and the ton of work that it took to do that. So if you take think

080about what we were mentioning about phase zero, right? We created a phase zero because I I I'm not in isolation going to renovate a church. What I'm going to do is renovate an addition to a school wing, a new CTE edition. We connect this building, formerly called a church, to it. And then I renovate it because now it's going to be an instructional space approved for CTE credit under the state of New York. We are actually Austin created a new form by the way for that. But we but anyway right you could probably give it more technical background. >> That's correct. What ends up happening is the state won't aid the building as a standalone church building. So we have to connect it to the high school so it becomes part of the high school.

081So as we take down on phase zero, we take down those buildings, phase one, we make that connection, then it becomes part of the high school and now you're um can make get aid on that renovation. That was the reason for that. Now when you're looking at this whole program and phasing plan, it might come up also that why did the music come up as phase two but is not being started till later in the program. And the reason for that is we don't have a lot of extra space in your your building. So to move the the music program out of its existing space to to renovate that portion of the building, we need to create space. So we're going to be using the rooms over the locker room right now for a temporary

082music center um while we build the music area. So it's really not that's the fitness center and then science rooms on the upper level. We're not going to be using it for its intended uh for its intended use until after we complete the use. So we have so we can create internal U swing space start looking at phase one at the uh the high school. Um you can see the area in pink uh is the phase one work. Uh on the left side is the uh renovation of the locker rooms. On the right side is the CP addition. The kind of the blue area is the existing church. So you can see how that addition on the right side connects to the church. And there's going to be a two-story bridge that connects the high

083school with that addition. So the goal is to kind of knit this together so you can walk from one end of the high school all the way down and eventually get into the church which will be programmatic space part of the CTE program. Um you can see the renovated locker rooms are very exciting. Some new coaching spaces and um you know better bathrooms and facilities over there in the uh locker room renovation. The CTE edition uh has been heavily programmed with great work from the district and uh Mary and her team. Um the time and thought that's gone into figuring out what what programs are going to be in this building has really been extraordinary. There's been a lot of effort put into programming and making these educational opportunities work. As we go up to

084the second floor, you can begin to see that bridge. So, on the left side is the second floor. On the right side is the third floor. You can see that you'll be able to go from the corridor, which will have the fitness room on one side, over to the uh CTE edition. There's going to be additional CTE classrooms on that second floor level, and an elevator will connect those floors all together. And then on the third floor, there are three science classrooms which we're in desperate need of in the high school area. And then also in the CTE edition, some more uh CPE support spaces and classrooms. So it's quite an accomplishment to build twotory edition over the locker rooms. A lot of planning there and to do it while the school is being occupied.

085We're going to look at more planning. Uh this is one of the preliminary renderings of the u the locker room. We call it the overbuild. The two stories that are going above the locker room. The second floor level is going to be the fitness center and the third floor is going to be the science classrooms above. Uh it'll be brick to match the existing building that's there. And you can get a sense of the the bridge between the CPD addition on the left side and the uh the new building connecting the locker rooms on the right side. That walkway going down to Route 9 is still going to be maintained. There's still going to be access from the road there. So, um there won't be a connection between the high school and the first floor,

086but you'll be able to get there on the second and third floor. Uh this is the uh picture of the church. You can see it on the on the left of your screen. In the center you're looking at the educational annex which is an addition to the church built in. Yeah. And then the rectory which is up above the retaining wall to the right side. So that's the view as you're coming down the road right now. This is the rendering of the uh CP edition from that same spot. So, um you can see the building and the materials are being worked out with the state historic preservation office in mind. Uh keeping a modern building, uh keeping the structure light. Um really opening it up and providing exciting classroom spaces and some great opportunities for

087robotics and some of the the really neat CPE programs that are going to be going in in this building. It's going to be a fantastic building and it really sits well on the site and knits the high school together with the church. This is a rendering of the building at night because one of the ideas with the church or as we're calling it the CTE renovation building is going to be that it will be used for performance spaces. So there could be an opportunity to use it in the evening uh to have community presentations there. So, it will be something that will be seen at night and we providing a great entrance for that and a lobby so that people can come in and enjoy the facility. As we look upstairs, there's some of the

088rooms are being developed right now. The interiors department is working with the district and their people to come out pick up fabrics and textures and uh just layouts and furniture. So, things are moving along with that. This isn't a set design yet, but it is exciting to see some of the ideas that are coming out in the mix as we move forward. Here's the fitness center. Um, I think there's really some great energy involved with this space. I think there's a great need. Everyone's dying to get into this space, but as Paul alluded to, I think it won't really be used fully because it's going to be needed for swing space for a while. This is where I was talking about you need the larger spaces to move your music. So this is the one

089one of the spaces that's under consideration. Now it doesn't mean that that's guaranteed. It means it's under consideration and there's again a lot of discussion to go on set on that. So finishes and furniture and equipment all right the level of detail like I know you want to just take a look at that picture and you'll see that wow that looks like I got ellipticals I got treadmills I got free weight stations conversations actually took place about what type of floor do we put in to handle the weight of that where do we in input put all the outlets depending upon the equipment that we're using. What type of flooring do we use? There was a lot of attention spent on all those small details in this room. A ton of attention. Where are we

090doing hydration stations? How will kids enter and leave the space? Looking at what different types of programs, how would our athletes use it, how would our PE students use it. So again, um it's a very exciting space. I think people would be thrilled, but there was a lot of attention spent on that. And then we probably will need it as a swing space until we do use it. I think all the students who've been down in the wait room at the high school would appreciate this. Hopefully, they'll be able to come back and enjoy the the space. Uh we'll talk a little bit about the CTE church renovation. right now. Um, if you'll remember from our our previous conversations, our structural engineer and our teams were going through the building, uh, kind of getting a

091sense of what's involved with this old structure. Uh, it's a beautiful building. What's important about it, what's, you know, some of the features that we want to maintain, but also more importantly, how can it be updated and used for uh, modern uses. Um, one of the first things is the roof and the exterior. Uh since we spoke last, there's been additional damage to the roof. More shingles have blown off and it it's really been a determination that the entire roof needs to be replaced on this building. So, you know, as we go through this project and this process, this is a long process. So, things are going to start to fall apart and, you know, we're going to try to get them fixed before we, you know, we get to that point. Uh but this

092is an example of as we're in the process of planning the roof reached a point where it needs to be fully addressed. So it is the church is going to get a full roof. Uh the exterior is going to be repointed. The masonry work is going to be uh brought up to uh weather tightness and and good shape. The flashings are going to be done. So the goal is to give an envelope a building that's going to be leak free and maintenancefree for the next 25 to 50 years. As uh the team has been through the building, there's some fantastic construction and I'll show you some pictures there. Um as we get into the attic there, the old trusses that support the the roof space, a very large attic spaces up there. Um you know,

093and the idea of the ceiling, which is in the space right now, when you go in, you see this fantastic ceiling. Um unfortunately as the team's looking at that ceiling uh some of the supports of the ceiling and some of the access issues that ceiling are creating for the need for sprinklers, mechanical systems and uh life safety like support and reinforcing the trusses. There's problems with keeping that ceiling. So the original plan of taking the ceiling out and providing uh an open space is really being developed right now. There's going to be drop ceiling clouds. There's going to be some support work for the lighting and mechanical systems. And I'll show you some renderings about that. The large space of the church right now, uh how the team's thinking about it. But you can see

094on the far left of the uh the section we call this right here is uh what we're calling the sacry or the you know the chapel area. It's a smaller space which we're able to or the plan is to keep the ceiling and keep as much of the original woodwork and construction as we can in that in that part of the space. So, it'll be a real tribute to the original construction and craftsmanship in that part of the building. And then you'll get into a more modern performance space that addresses some of the fire safety and performance needs of uh community and the CTE program. >> You know, this program was modified about a week ago. What you're going to see on what the architects develop is about only about a week old because as

095we started getting together and having meetings with um the architects and engineers um and we started realizing that um the amount of work it was going to take to maintain the existing structure and the existing ceiling, the existing woodworking. So what was happening was we were looking at different areas of the building because the uh cost of that building was starting to uh be challenging was starting to escalate based on the amount of work. So we all grouped together and then we had another meeting with um Mary, Alita, Gary and we sat around discussing all the individual components of this building and ideas to basically bring the uh construction in line with the budgets. So that's what you're going to see now is one of those uh results. Definitely a team effort. A lot of

096meetings, a lot of time been taken by this entire team to reach this point. Um, so this is a section showing that uh front of the building keeping that original ceiling. And you can see how that truss work is above the ceiling which are those are wooden members, dry as a bone, but we have to get sprinklers and mechanical systems. But we were going through this. There's like a This was built 1880. This church I think around there, right? Okay. So, there's a catwalk in there, like old wood from 1880. Pretty wide boards. And And Jared told me I had to like make him repeat it. He's walked that catwalk. There's no railing up there. There's a big tin ceiling below. Um I was like, couldn't believe it. So again, certainly would never be given

097code or permission today to have built such a thing. But again, I'm thinking about how do I like, you know, particularly as a superintendent of schools, tell a border community like we have to build a a place that's safe. I'm going to have children in that. It has to be ventilated correctly. I need sprinkler systems for safety. I can't create situations where I could have insulation that could produce mold or even how do I maintain those sprinkler systems? How do we send staff in there? And then if this is a public works project and I'm building CTE classrooms that need the acoustical needs of students and a classroom like that's really what it comes down to. the original chapel there will become a classroom and the the design as we're looking at it right now

098will meet that meet those needs of a classroom and then combine with a with a coral room and that will be fine but this space particularly that roof it became very apparent that and in in the 1880s I would imagine that you can just take a look at that I don't know if I was on a scaffold in the 1880s and I ran out of wood what am I using to help like shore up some things I don't know whatever was there right um that wouldn't be allowed today and you have to brace all of those trusses to handle the new things that are coming in like how does that happen in this environment so um outside of just the thought the lead and I left Jared you walk that catwalk I just as an

099aside >> that's well said Mary and once you're up on that catwalk you're 40 40 feet above the the ground below a long way down. So you get a sense from some of these pictures of let me go back one some of the the condition of the ceilings up there. You can see that kind of ribbing on the bottom on the left side. That's the arch ceiling that you see when you're on in the church itself looking up. And you can see the the members the wood members are just pieces of wood that they had on site and you know whatever they had lying around. So structural engineer was not very enthused about reusing those support elements. Um couldn't get them to sign off. No. And you can see some of the condition of the

100the footings and foundations on the right side. It it works. It's solid. It's not going anywhere, but it's brick with a big log on top of it. So um we have to go back in and reinforce. We have seismic codes to consider now. So, a lot of consideration about how to keep real essence of this building and make it into a usable modern facility. We wanted to give you a little bit of picture that um Paul was talking about of what the interior of that church is going to look like. So, uh with the with the needs of a modern performance space, there's going to need lighting and speakers and cameras. So, we can't hang all that stuff from the trust. we have to provide uh independent trust system. It's going to be a grid

101or framework within that big space. It's going to allow them to move the lighting, move the the cameras all over over the space and really use it in many different ways and configure it however they want to, which is a goal of the CT program to teach kids how to do that as part of the theatrical training and performance setup and a work that they're going to be doing. Um, sure. Uh, you can see also like running above that we are going to be bringing the mechanical systems in. Uh, they're going to be supported on the trusses and the goal is to be able to keep those trusses without any extraneous load. Um, we already have to reinforce the trusses. That's going to be a major project in itself. But uh by providing this freestanding

102trust system, we're really able to free up that structure, do what we have to do in the building independent of that old structure and allow it to to live and breathe and still, you know, provide a a great space and a great place for the district to do these programs. back to that barreled ceiling for a moment if you would want. So could you just point out to folks where if I don't know if anywhere everyone can see it but if you look closely there is a curve in that ceiling down there right there. Okay. So so that's that's the current space right now. So you want to insulate that. We want to make sure that to our taxpayers here in this community that we're not like you were we're being very efficient with fuel

103and energy and cost because this is a big space. So how do you insulate that? It's not insulated now. You blow in insulation there and it's a curved space. I don't know. I from my non techchnical background it just falls to the side. Um and then you don't want to do um like you don't want to spray foam on the roof there in that space because now you've impeded air flow in that space, right? So the potential for developing mold or other issues or we were going to have students in there. So to it became very clear to the three of us at that meeting that this needed to go. is needed to go and uh and by the way when you saw the next slide where you see the independent trust system where you

104see the central AC heating and you you won't really see that anyway the the older trust systems because lights will go on lights will be pointing down to students this is a performance arts classroom for kids so again it will be insulated then they'll be able to insulate the roof directly without having to deal with this cavity One of the other things that we were looking at at the same time was um on that old barrel ceiling that's there getting and reinfor reinforce the trusses. We would have to start either removing some of the ceiling and trying to get above it to get to the areas above. Like Dave said, it's about 40 feet to the highest area. Um or we would come in from the roof on top. So our team was going through

105trying to figure a cost-effective way of making this work and really what we weren't being successful. So so that's when we said okay we got to start considering what are other options. So the other thing that we discussed also um with something doing something as complicated as this and trying to maintain the roof um would be very difficult to find a contractor a public works contractor that can do that work. Um so it could wind up costing us more money with change orders um because they're going to find things that they can't do. Um like we're not hiring um >> we're not start restor Yeah. Um we have to hire public work so the work needs to be clear um so we don't have any change orders change orders um that'll cost more money or

106take away from the project itself. >> Right. There was a lot of factors going into the decision making as we were getting to that point. Once we realized what it was going to take to um basically um build that design, it was starting to be clear that okay, we got to rethink the program. Now it was in the middle of we went through schematic design. We were in design development and we actually stopped the process in design development and went back to the drawing board with CPL for them to come up with a new concept and we all were part of how to build a new concept to make it um suit your needs uh for your CTE program and also maintain the budget. All right, let's turn our attention to the new 78 building.

107Um, I think at the last meeting we were showing some plans. We've been a lot of programming discussion about the building and the team has been busy kind of envisioning what the exterior is going to look like. So, as you're coming in that new access drive from Stormytown Road, this is the view that you'll be greeted with. Uh on the left side is the cafeteria and some large great glass going to be lighting up that space. It's going to be a fantastic cafeteria space. You can see the columns more towards the right of the picture as the entrance drive curves around there. That's the entrance and then the gymnasiums on the right side. So it is a longer linear building that sits on top of this plateau that's being made up there on the hill.

108Uh you can see some of the on the left side there's some additional parking and some great you know the circulation and another side entrance that'll get people in and deliveries in the cafeteria and kitchen. This is a view of the the entrance coming into the uh from the access drive. Uh the columns, the administrative offices are there giving kind of a view and one of the first things you will see and be greeted by is the friendly faces working behind the counter and the the desk there. So looking forward to getting that built out and finally realizing that design. Um the submitt to the SED is going to be this spring. Uh so the team is working on you know finalizing the plans and getting the elevations done. So as these drawings move we'll

109give you more updates and as things change. Uh but it is exciting though things are moving along at a a fantastic clip right now. And I think it it's really due to the the leadership of Superintendent Fox Alter and her team being able to organize all her people and to get their input and to get it to us so that we can realize these, you know, the direction and goals that the the school is looking for, the district's looking for. Just to give you an idea of where in the process, we're in the design development portion of the project. That's what was provided to us by CPL of which we are now estimating so that we make sure that the design that's being developed continually stays within the budget. So then we're very budget conscious

110as we're going through this process. So uh we went through schematic design estimated that that went well. Uh we were in budget we are now in design development. the budget for that should be ready um next week and we should basically then discuss that. If we're good to go, then we move forward. If not, we just look at alternative on some constructibility areas in the building to align the building um features uh with the boats. As we move around the building, you can see a view of the back and the side. So, uh, the team is working on this. It's moving along and very exciting. View of the interior uh towards the entrance. Some brighter colors, some uh some patterning is is being developed right now for the public spaces. So, um, you know, attention

111to materials for the floor, materials for the wall. These are all things that are being reviewed with Jared and his team, Mary and her her her great staff. So, uh, everything is being considered. Location of the nurse, how to get in, is the nurse near the main entrance. These are all important safety and program decisions. And then there's some fantastic views from the balcony overlooking that main space. So um you know the goal is to provide an exciting you know well-lit clean educational space and I think the program is really shaping up nicely. It is hard to see that but you know because it is a a long building we're trying to get away from a very you know linear experience. So there's been some work trying to open up different lines of sight and

112by curving some walls and the walls are actually shaping a performance space. So there is going to be an auditorium in this building and that curved wall is an important feature in that auditorium. So it does double duty working for the auditorium but then also providing a nice kind of relief to some of the things that are going on in the interior in the corer space. So, it'll be an an active space, a lot of different things happening, exciting for kids of that age, and you know, it should be easy to find your way around in the building. Very uh cognizant of that and keeping that in mind, but also making it so that it is able to be supervised and a safe and comfortable space as well. >> I'm sure there'll be questions first.

113Thank you so much. um for the thorough and detailed update. It's very clear how much work is going in to the planning as we move forward. Um before I ask any questions, I'll open it up to the rest of the board if anybody in person wants to start. >> Thanks. Um so my just want to make sure the board um just recapping the church this church. So it was a budget set for the church, right? And then you get in there and you say, "Oh, we got this, we got this, we got that." So I guess question the question. So general question is, were there any surprises and things you found? Have we led to any change orders or cost adjustments so far? And I know you can't predict the future, but is there more

114risk to that which would impact what you do with it? And then the last part of that is it looks like you don't set it up to the state until April 2028 if I've got that correct. So that like that's like two and a half years from now if my math is correct. Could there be other surprises and things come up with that church that either balloon the cost or change over change orders or then you have to change scope of project? I guess the broad question is what's the overall risk with that as it stands now and any other surprises that we you envision that could maybe not be surprised. Okay. Uh change order only occur during the construction. >> Okay. So we're in design development now. So the work we're doing now is

115to do exactly what you want. We are doing as much research as we can in the building and costing it so that we can minimize any any change. So that's the work we're doing now. So to give you an idea as we started looking at the structure and and it was really started by the uh structural engineer when the structural engineer came in and started calculating the load on the existing trusses uh he started realizing that the existing structures uh existing trusses were great in 1880 and they're working great now u but they don't meet so then he started designing uh brace bracing systems for these trucks as he was designing the bracing systems and let us letting us know what he's going to have to do. The actual bracing is inexpensive that can be

116done. It's not a problem. The problem with it is is where it where it is in the building. It is 40 ft in the air and with that curve ceiling in front of that uh it made it very difficult to get up there safe. So then we started looking at and started costing out how much it would do how much it would cost us to open up that ceiling. Now we're opening up a ceiling that was built in the 1880s with the wood that you saw. We can't rebuild it or replace it with the same type. So we're going to have to design a new CPL. We have to design a new way to blend the old and the new together possibly in in within the same element. So that became an expense an expense

117also when they gave us the loads of the roof structure it came that we we can't use the existing structure according to the structural engineer again to hang the sprinkler systems off lighting off of or any of the other mechanical systems. So that's where Dave pointed out a trust system is being designed to carry the loads of all the items that's going to this building so we don't affect the roof. And then as time was going on when you're looking at it, we started noticing that there were shingles starting to um we found them on the ground and Jared let us know that you went through already a repair on that roof um or she was being blown off. So, we started seeing that occurring a little more, actually a lot more. Uh, Fred went

118through and um came up with what how was that roof supposed to be built when they re- roofed it and found that it wasn't um actually correctly installed for that steep slope, which meant that all right, it's now a roof that we didn't expect to have or re uh resh. So, that came into play. We then started looking at um over the course of the years now this project has been in planning for quite a while. So the woodworking has taken more more damage. The stone work has more uh repointing necessary. So then we started focusing on we've really got to basically make a nice waterproof weather resistance shell and then work towards. So the focus started going around to what do you really need long term and a budget to focus our efforts on

119that to figure out how to keep it in the whole intent is the budget was set for the direction is that that's the budget we're going to maintain. So that's what we're working so our intent is to do the work now to avoid the Uh, okay. There was a lot there. So, I might have to Yeah, I'm not >> or we can ask followup questions. >> Yeah, I'm not going to follow. No, but that so the second one and I can follow discuss the the separate question is related to I guess overall >> but any of the projects which will you know be happening you know hammers will be swung during while school is in session to simplify it like do you have independent who monitors air quality noise levels things when that's going on

120is that done by your team is that independent Are the regulations around that? Can you just talk to some of that for any of the projects? But again, related to things are being banged into walls and things while the school's going on. We're taking stuff off walls, like all that stuff. We are the construction managers. We have tools on site managing the construction and the safety of the site. You have an environmental engineer, a third party environment environmental engineer that handles all hazardous materials, dust or any environmental conditioning the project and they'll basically be involved in the project right from start. So um in the very beginning of this program I was explaining some of our thought process on how we have to approach this project and I did uh why we came up with

121the division zero partially why we came up with division zero because it's starting to look at it where do we how do we build a twotory structure over top of your existing market without affecting your how you operate school. It's really impossible to do it right in front of the doors. So, we had to create a scenario of pulling back into the church property basically right where the directory is current and create a level platform and then work from there into the building. Our trucks can deliver in that area. Uh concrete can be delivered in that area. A crane could be put in that area without ever affecting uh your school operation. So that's what we look at and that's what our team basically focuses on also. All right. Now that we're we got a

122design that's moving forward, how do we build that design without >> that'll be a huge question our community will care about particularly who have kids in the high school. So we definitely appreciate that and there's a whole layer I mean I think Jared could even give you the examples how almost I weekly if not daily depending upon what's happening there needs to be uh if we have a fire drill what what what what stairwells are no longer being used how are we communicating that we need to have that level of oversight within the bill now people I I've actually done that like people we know how to do that we just have to do it well and it's paramount. Student safety is paramount and making sure that if a wire gets cut or something all

123life safety systems still work, communication systems work. So that's requires a great deal of oversight. It's our responsibility to do that and um and um it is imperative for safety that we do that. Going back to your first question which I also think is an important question you know for our community too that what the process that just happened and Fred used that terminology I know Paul um certainly Dave have we the stage that we just explained is meant to take away the risks right that that was the whole point it became apparent at one point at the meeting Alita Jared and I it hit a tipping point I was like that roof's got to come down there was no question at You got to remove the unknowns. I need actually to to make it

124sound. I need to have a different level of I'm I'm having kids sing in that space and perform. I need a different level there. How do I handle the cost for there was obviously a slate roof on that building at some point and we need to shore that up now so that I don't allow water into the building. So these levels of plans were all taken care of to do that. So became focused on that structure. I want we want to know how many how many stonework is being repointed. What are the costs associated with that? We had plans for a lovely full basement down there. You know, we're we're we're going to do what we need to do to make sure it's structurally sound, but the luxury of a walk-in basement under that whole

125space. Well, no, that that left that left. That left. So, right off the bat, we eliminated risk with let's just take it down. And you know what? We're going to take off that asphalt roof that wasn't done right. And we're going to install a really good roof there. We're going to fix what we need to fix. We're going to repoint the bricks and then we're going to shore up the bottom that that if it just became because it's taxpayer money. It we have to eliminate the risk piece of it. We can't lose money and create more damage to that right now while we're in this process. Right. >> Thank you. >> Okay. >> Um either Owen or Melissa. Go ahead. >> So I could say that I was super excited when I saw this on

126the agenda because I think the number one thing that has been brought up to me when I since I've been the student representative is what is going on with the church? When are we renovating? Um, so I will definitely direct them to this presentation and all the work that you guys have done is definitely evident. So I will direct them to that. Um, and it's a huge project. I mean I remember my freshman year we we added an annex the connection for the annex and the third floor main and that was like the biggest thing ever. So this is this is definitely a lot a lot larger. But my my one question uh focuses in on uh kind of the the church and there was some frustration from students at the beginning of this year

127um with student parking. Uh the the church lot was used as a parking lot for students throughout the last couple years and that's the one year and that's the uh that's the biggest kind of uh concern that students come to me with. And this might not be a question you can answer now um but or or in the future, but will that space be still used for students to park in when this is eventually complete? >> Glad you asked that and I'd be happy to answer it. We knew that going into this school year, we were going to be demoing the um the rectory building a church. As we mentioned before, the board's going to hopefully approve the the bid and the contract uh for that work to happen very very soon. So, we didn't

128want to create a situation where we allowed students to park in there and then we'd have to kick them out this year. >> The other thing is that we had to get engineers, we had to get people in, the experts in to really evaluate the church and we wanted to make sure that that could happen. So, those are really the reasons why that um we close that back off this year. >> Yeah. And then uh >> Yeah. And and what Paul's been talking about is, you know, that that lay down space. Once once we do the demo work, you're going to see that there's going to be a flat space there that we're going to be able to stage up. Okay. >> So, we need construction trucks in, we get a crane in, we can

129do those things so we can build phase one. >> But that's the reason why. >> Yeah. Yeah. Um I'll I'll be sure to report back because uh there is definitely some frustration. Yeah, I get it. I get it. >> Yeah. Yeah. Um and then the other thing I just wanted to mention was you you mentioned the the fit the new fitness center and all that stuff. um that is definitely something that we need. The wait room right now is is um definitely in need of improvement. So, I'm I'm just disappointed that I I won't be able to be here for for all the new stuff, but uh thank you so much. >> Danny, do you have >> I don't have any questions and it's not because I'm not interested. I really appreciate the update and

130I have noticed on town there's that board now that says you know find out about fond and have been asking what's going on with the gra you can now find out about fun >> yes thank you for another detailed presentation um things seem to be going as close to the plan as we could expect so I don't have too many new questions, just a couple of curiosities. Um, I'm also very pleased to see how strategic we're being with the timing of how we're building things out so that it's, you know, aidable and things like that. Very creative. Um, I'm curious just because we are in winter, right? And I the thought just came to me like how disruptive is that all are things like increased a lot of like looks like we're going to get

131a lot of snow this winter if anything is or just like ground freezing things like that is that are those things that we find are going to be disruptive or I'm pretty sure those are things you used to a plan for but I'm just curious to especially with the capital projects there's a lot of things that we're breaking ground on Um, uh, yes, normally, and Fred and I were talking about this earlier today, actually, that we normally figure that we have until just about the end of December before we really get caught with uh, cold weather and snow and things like that. Well, this reminds me the winter when I was close to the kids and that you had white Christmas. In fact, my granddaughter who was eight now um when I was shoveling my

132walk on Sunday and she came over and I I told her I said I don't think you've ever seen them like this if you haven't lived very much. So um it is uh hindering us a little bit. Um it changes uh cold weather protection dealing with concrete and masonry items. There are regulations that are u have to be followed to do that. Um so we are following those regulations. It slows the process down. Um but we are still on schedule by uh and turned over by >> Okay, great. Um lastly, just curious as well. I know part of the CTE um construction, one of the large commitments is to the preservation process. So, I'm wondering as we keep moving along, do we find ourselves not really surprised by anything that we're having to work around

133in order to keep that commitment or, you know, how's that working? >> You know, part of what we've been doing is our homework. Um, you know, we've been talking to organ experts, we've been talking to stained glass experts, uh, we've had people come in looking at the woodwork. Um, you know, so that idea of no surprises, I'm sure a lot of people who are listening to this live in old houses in Austining as I do, and when you open up a wall, there can be all kinds of surprises. So, we're trying to eliminate that. We're trying to as much as we can. Um, you know, for the preservation aspect, you know, we're we're really determined to keep that chapel area as the best representation. You know, we're we're trying to keep the window in there.

134We're trying to keep the woodwork uh the ceiling as it is so that people can see the the level of craftsmanship and the level of care and detail that went into that building. Um we think that's the appropriate spot for it, you know, programmatically in the larger space where it's going to be performance space that a lot of that detail might be lost, you know, but in a more intimate space, it's really nice to be able to save that and preserve it and to offer that back to the community. So there's still lots of great things and great detail that that church has that we're we're keeping in this project. So we feel pretty comfortable pretty important. I I like to highlight a little bit a conversation we have with the high school administration, right?

135Because they're people who will be using the space and programming. um they were very concerned about um how many how many students we can fit, how many programs, how what's what's the flexibility in the space if we decide to have a staff meeting or PD there, what happens if one of the performing groups wants to put on a performance. They were very concerned about lighting, seating, and how we go about that, which ended up with that big open space. Right? So, we've all seen much older buildings on the outside, but inside you can see a more contemporary space that actually seats the new meets the needs of the people who will be occupying the space, which will be our students and teachers. Um, Katherine, if you have any questions, you can unmute. Oh, just thank

136you very much for the presentation. Oh, okay. Um, that was it. Thanks, Katherine. Um, I I'm looking at this and un I think I have the answer to my question, but I want to just confirm um, you know, listening to this business about swing space for the music area and why that is kind of um, why there's such a gap, I should say, between the design and construction to allow that space. What I'm imagining right now is like a concert in the locker room, right? Or the weight the athletic training room. And like maybe that is what you know like what you mean by that. I I doubt it. But I just want to ensure that like they'll always be like it looks like the complete the the 78 building which has an auditorium will

137be completed before this space works. So there'll always be a place to have a meeting where all the staff can attend on superhuman conference day or place to have you know the musicals the concerts somewhere in the district. >> Yes. And we're not affecting the auditorium or the other spaces. We're actually taking the band uh and the orchestra rooms and shifting them into a space you currently don't have. So it's really relocating that into the area. So, we have to complete that space before we can move it over. And that's why the music area back the fitness center. It's not going to look like a different music. It's going to look like a wide open space. at the end of the program when music moves back over that face will be that space will be

138outfitted for the that's the way uh it's being designed right now with that. Thank you so much for that clarification and thank you so much and people who are watching at home don't realize maybe that um Mary updates the board uh weekly and so we're hearing a lot of updates as she has so many of these meetings related to planning and construction um we're getting a lot of updates so that's why you're not seeing a lot of like really indepth maybe questions because um and Mary has gone out of her way to answer them proactively um and I just feel like we're going to be hearing about like the real details. I feel like Mary's going to update us on like the length of the screws for the drywall. It it it is really quite

139detailed. So, I appreciate the um all the information you're giving us so that we can be very informed so that we can ask well informed questions like you heard tonight. So, I just appreciate all the work and and Mary's communication to us gives us a a greater opportunity to appreciate all the work that's going in on behalf of everybody else who's standing here today. So, um, thank you to all of you and, uh, Mary and everybody who's even not in front of us who's doing this other other work, too. So, appreciate that. >> I think your superintendent likes this process. >> All right, let me get back. I think we're good. Thank you so much for coming. and sharing all your work. All right, we come now to our first public comment period. Um, I'm

140seeing no one here in person. Is there anybody online who may wish to speak? Okay, we'll move ahead. Uh, next on our agenda is our consent agenda, business of the board. I will take a motion for items 4.2 through 4.4. Got the green. All right. Uh uh 4.2 resolution to approve a memorandum of understanding with Toro College of Dental Medicine. 4.3 Resolution to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 5th, 2025. 4.4 for a resolution to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 19th, 2025. Uh those uh any discussion those here in person? All in favor? I >> I >> opposed. Abstension. Uh attending virtually. Uh in favor, I see Katherine's hand is up, so we'll let the record show that she's voting in favor. uh consent agenda item uh for

141business office matters. Does anybody have anything they wish to break out? And I apologize, I forgot to ask for the last item uh for section four. For section five, does anybody have anything they wish to break out? Okay. In that case, I'll take a motion for 5.1 through 5.8. 5.1 resolution to approve the treasures report for September 2025. 5.2 resolution to approve the budget and uh revenue report for September 2025. 5.3 Resolution regard change order one Vamco Inc. Park in Claremont A&E. 5.4 Resolution regarding change order one Remis LLC Park in Claremont A&E. 5.5 Resolution to transfer funds from the OS student council club to the OS engineering club. 5.6 Six, resolution to accept funds collected for the cost of copying files/records. 5.7 resolution to accept funds collected as a refund for prior year's expense.

1425.8 Resolution regarding appointment of bond consultant Spark Patterson Lee. Any discussion? >> I'm sorry, it's not bond consultant. >> Did I misread? >> Okay, >> that's for 5.8. >> Yeah, I'm sorry. guard that's should be um >> okay so 5.8 should uh >> it's a it's a it's a bond consultant contract with CCL but it's the contract. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> So we don't need to take it make >> I don't think you have to but I just wanted to clarify. Okay. It's a separate contract just for the bond. >> Okay. Not incorrect such that we need to I don't think a motion. Okay. So then we'll vote. Um those in person or is there any further discussion I should say before we Okay. Those in person all in favor I >> opposed extensions.

143Those attending virtually all in favor I'm noting Catherine's hands up so sure she votes in favor. I'll take a motion now for 6.1. Second 6.1 resolution to accept recommended placements for special education students. Any discussion? >> Uh those in person all in favor? >> I I >> opposed abstensions and those attending virtually. I uh all in favor um please let the record show that Katherine is raising her digital hand and both in favor. Does anybody have anything from 7.2 through 7.12 that they wish to break out? All right. Seeing none, I'll take a motion for 7. Yeah. >> 5.9. >> Oh, did I? >> Oh, mine's different than yours. >> Oh, okay. I'm using an out. >> Are you using a printed version? >> I'm using a printed version. >> It's on the um online

144agenda. >> Okay. Yeah, I'm looking at a printed version. So, there must be printed before that. So, thank you. Um, I'll take a motion then for 5.9. >> Thank you for that catch. Um, so 5.9 resolution regarding award of bid classroom building annex and rectory demolition and site work church and rectory. Any discussion? Those in person all in favor? >> I opposed abstensions. Those attending virtually, all in favor, let the record show that Catherine's digital hand is raised and that she votes in favor. >> Yeah. All right. Uh, now I don't remember where we were. I had to get a motion on 7.2 through 72. >> Yes. Okay. I have to resend it. >> Yes. So, I'll resend the I'll take a motion motion. >> Yeah. >> I'll take a motion to resend the motion

145for 7.2 through 7.12. >> So, move. >> Any discussion? Those in person? All in favor? >> I. Those attending virtually, uh, all in favor, let the record show that Katherine's hand is raised in favor. At this time, I'll take a motion for 7.2 through 7.13. >> All right. Thank you. Um, 7.2, resolution regarding civil service staff resignation. 7.3 resolution regarding support staff resignations. 7.4 resolution regarding bus attendant resignations. 7.5 Resolution regarding professional staff appointments. 7.6 Resolution regarding confidential staff appointments. 7.7 Resolution regarding civil service staff appointments. 7.8 Resolution regarding support staff appointments. 7.9 Resolution regarding bus attendant appointments. 7.10 Resolution regarding professional staff appointments before after school programs. 7.10 Resolution regarding support staff appointments before after school programs. 7.12 Resolution regarding PDM substitute appointments. 7.13 resolution regarding approval of school volunteers. Any discussion uh those

146voting in person all in favor? >> I >> opposed abstensions. Those voting virtually all in favor the record show that Catherine's digital hand is raised that she is in favor. Thank you for your patience on that. I would not have noticed. Uh, looking now at our board policies, we have everything here as a second reading. So, um, I'll just take a motion for one as well. We're here voting on everything as a second reading. I could take it as extended and batch it. um so that make it a little bit more smooth. So I'll just ask for any would there be any opposition to do doing that? >> Okay. In that case, I'll take a motion on 8.1 through 8.4. >> Second. >> All right. 8.1 resolution to adopt new policy 8130.2 workplace violence prevention

147as a second reading. 8.2 2 resolution to adopt new policy 8505 charging meals and other food items as a second reading. 8.3 resolution to adopt new policy 9520.6 the rights of employees to express the breast milk in the workplace as a second reading. 8.4 resolution to adopt revised policy 5405 local wellness policy as a second reading. Any discussion? >> I just want to appreciate the committee on 8.4 for on the wellness policy going back and adding language about encouraging physical activity at AMD middle school and at the high school. So it's noted and I think committee can appreciate that that we're talking about all students getting re resource recess andor encouraging physical activity. >> But yeah the wellness committee met on Monday. Any further discussion? All right. of those in person. All in favor? >>

148I oppose of such of those attending virtually. All in favor? We'll let the record show that Katherine's hand is raised in favor. All right, we come now to our second audience recognition. I'm seeing no person here uh to speak. Is there anybody online who may wish to speak? Captain, your hand's still up. I can see that. Thanks. >> Sorry, got a little distracted for a minute. >> There we go. Okay. Then we can move on now to item 11, board reports and dialogue. Does anybody want to update from any committees that have not? I think some have. um communication pretty met most of the conversation was around registration. There is some confusion between the um park and so that's going to be clarified >> and a uh subcommittee was formed the communications committee that focused

149on student voice meeting with high school administration week after after we get back from holiday break to talk about that and more effective ways to communicate to us. >> And Evan was at All right. Um, the policy committee met. Um, we nothing made it to the agenda for today, but we do have some things coming down the pipe and some things that will take some more time to work out. Um, we discussed, and anybody who is here, feel free to to help me out. um our school safety plans and teams and our policy versus policy is very different. So the policy that um Alteras was there going over um included a little bit more detail and they're still working on that, right? So there's nothing really of substantive report at this time, but it's something

150that's on the horizon for us. Um we also discussed uh data privacy uh and security breachification. Um same there more work to be done. It had to do with like third party contractors and having uh you know companies that we contract with meet our needs as far as uh student data privacy goes and access to you know parental access to student data for example and the fact that Mary's going to correct me when I screw this up but um basically the fact that each district is really responsible for drawing their own contract with these um sometimes large, sometimes small ed companies and uh the next step I think is to go to the brick and see >> uh through our lawyers as well. Do they they draw up these kinds of policies for other school

151districts so that there can be some consistency among our district and others to make it easier to maintain those services. >> Which one? >> Okay, I was I was listening. Okay. Um, we also began discussions of our exopysio student board member policy. Um, that's going to take some time for us, I think, to reflect on. There's nothing we're ready to bring up, but we're going to start kind of combing through the NISBO recommended policy and we're going to start there because our current policy is really just like a little paragraph. Um, and the NISBO policy is a little bit more thorough. So, we're going to start with the policy and then kind of fit it to what we think will work for us. So, that's also on the horizon. Um, what was the other one?

152>> The personel records. >> Yeah, I was going to say student records. >> Personnel records >> and personnel records. Those changes will be on the next agenda because we're just changing language to be compliant with laws that have passed. So there's really little in uh work for us to do on the policy committee. It's language that has to be included to keep current with current laws. Right. >> Okay. I got it right because it was just the it was just yesterday. So I can still remember all the details. Um have any other committees met? the uh Hester B Spencer Hind as well. Um we had a discussion and have settled on or decided on three um recipients that we'd like to recommend to the board. So I can send those names out and if there's

153no objection um we can proceed with um her process for making sure those recipients are notified and available. Um, any updates outside of committee? >> I just want to say the governance committee tried to meet and it's my fault. I got sick so we had to cancel, but we'll reschedu. >> Oh, you know what? I am glad that you mentioned that because I did send out or I did have I sent out an email soliciting for feedback about winter retreat agenda items. Um, so you should have that email. Other board members, you can respond to them. You can bring it up here if you'd like. Um, whatever you would like that wasn't in that email um to discuss in retreat. Be thinking about that. Billy also sent out an email for dates and it looks

154like 22nd or 26. We're still If you haven't responded, please respond so that we can set that motion and please do that. And I think that's probably what the governance comm I it it sparked my memory because that's probably what the governance committee was going to end up telling me what to do. So it was one of one of the things we were just going to sort of check to make sure we're on track. I apologize to my committee members. It was the kind of illness you don't see coming and that you cannot function when it hits you. >> Switch tax. Uh you had mentioned the the calendar committee met. >> Yes. Um, we looked at our not proposed but preliminary draft calendar for 237 and then ones from other districts only one was adopted

155and >> everyone is having challenges this year. >> So I will uh I will for the next committee meeting put together a formal draft for everyone to look at. Any other school related updates? All right, this is a going on committee. Just a reminder um for this night because we don't want to discuss it tonight, but we are going to the equity advocacy conference institute that's the word. Um, and they have asked us to, you know, there's a whole schedule of who we can meet with in DC. And be nice if the board would provide Roger and me with a direction on who to meet with, what to meet about, what's important to us before we go, but we have until Okay. So, maybe we can be thinking about that and then come back to

156board dialogue with a suggestion. If you do you have like a list did they send you like a list of people who would be available? >> I forwarded one to everyone and I'll forward it again. >> Okay. >> Um so we can address questions. So I think with no other board members I will take a motion to adjourn the regular meeting of December 17th 2025. Any discussion? Those in person, all in favor? >> I opposed. Abstensions. Those attending virtually, all in favor. Uh, let the record show that Catherine's hand is raised in favor. This meeting is adjourned.