001good evening like to welcome everybody to the uh the board meeting on Thursday May 4th uh Mr Philo could you call the roll please Ms Landon yes yes Mrs Milan here Mr steininger here Mr McCord yes here Mr Browning here could we all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance please [Music] so next on the agenda is to approve the agenda as amended for what Mr Philo said if I could get a motion in a second second Mr Philo Mrs Milan yes Mr steininger Ms Landon yes Mr McCourt yes Mr Browning yes next is to approve the minutes of the Thursday April 6 regular meeting and the uh Monday April 10th special meeting again if I could get a motion second thank you Mr Philo Mr McCord yes Mrs Milan yes Miss Landon yes Mr steininger
002yay Mr Browning yes uh next is the board reports in goody order Wendy would you like to start sure we'd like to congratulations to our honor inductees class of 2023. uh Stephen B Edwards Edward Gibbons Linda reiny Housley Sean Kelly Wendy Williams Kirsch Glenn Oakley Colonel Roger Thornberry thank you to the selection and the induction committees and to all who helped make this a memorable and a memorable experience for the inductees and I'd also like to say uh congratulations to our students and staff of the quarter um it's a great honor to be able to be part of that night and I would like to say congratulations again thank you okay all right Fairborn intermediate held its first informational meeting for Watch Dogs that d-o-g-s is dads of great students um looks like it says
003tonight but I'm sure it wasn't tonight thank you to all of the fathers grandfathers uncles big brothers and all of the important men in our kids lives for coming um Fairborn intermediate had over 90 adults and over 100 students participate so that's a pretty great program um Fairborn Primary School held Culture Night 2023 with celebrity readers including superintendent Gene Lolly and director of curriculum and instruction Dr Sue brackenhoff students and families had the opportunity to learn about different cultures through dance food and activities and we'd like to congratulate Fairborn Primary School for that I also this past weekend got to attend Greene County's third annual anti-racism Symposium this year's event focused on issues facing black and brown families in housing it was a very informative event to attend I'd like to also send out a
004congratulations to Karen garretta for such a great final choir concert on April 26th it was really wonderful to see all of the seniors get to share their talent prior to the show and finally the final band concert for Fairborn High School is tomorrow night at 7 pm if you don't have tickets yet you can get those online so we highly encourage people to come out for that and lastly graduating class of 23 enjoy your last two weeks there's not a lot of time left we want to wish you well and I'm looking forward to seeing you all um to hand you your diplomas in a couple weeks so thank you okay Pat yeah I just wanted to say uh attended a concert last night which uh I tell you when you talk about our talented
005kids not only on the athletic field but in the music side of this thing uh we heard some seventh graders last night both in a jazz group and a concert group that just blew me away I mean you think of seventh graders and and the first time at a concert like this and this is the first jazz band that the seventh grade has had in a long long time but and I'm not a big connoisseur of music but uh from what I heard and when I saw a nice Sharp sounds very um you know attentive to the director and they just did a wonderful job so congratulations to them and as well we got a chance to hear the high school jazz band Mr Greta and Mrs Greta they always do a great job so
006thanks to the all those kids there um the Skyhawk boys track team had its best finish of the Season at the Monroe Invitational finish finishing fifth out of 14 teams the day started out with a 4 by 800 Relay Team finishing first with a new school record time of 8.5682 the team of Luke Kinnaman Matthew Wardle David Oster is that ostrich uh yeah it's crazy I I guess it is uh Dominic bushelman uh was the highest places of the day Michael Wardle finished second uh in the high jump with a jump of six foot two the four by one hundred and four by 200 relay teams established personal records with the best times of the season so uh uh congratulations to all the athletes and the coaches uh for a uh a great great job
007out telling the track team thank you yes I'd like to thank the Fairborn High School would like to reach out and thank Mr Jamie Hemsley and the Fairborn rotary club for their sponsoring our students to attend the ryla which stands for the rotary youth leadership awards it's an intensive leadership experience organized by rotary clubs in our area and allows the students to develop their skills as leaders and having fun at the same time our students met from from other people from around the district I know they made friendships at that time and our students will also be a valuable resource to our own school and into the communities they go forward the attendees were Caitlin kotts Marina Kelly Allison meter and Bella Jabs Jabs we'd like to thank these students for their participation and helping
008out fairborne thank you okay the first thing is uh the high school had their top scholar breakfast the other day and it recognizes all of the top Scholars of each of the classes and uh really would like to congratulate those students and I you know ask them to keep up the great work and if you go to the website there's going to be the detail of the student's name by class and everything on the school web page uh this the second thing is around uh the music department you know Pat mentioned the uh the concert last night and Mr Greta said that he had been wanting to start a middle school jazz band for a long time and the assistant band director Katie Welch grabbed a hold of that and put the Jazz Band together
009and uh they did a great job both Middle School and High School the other thing that was neat in there was there's high school students in the jazz band that are mentoring the middle school students so it's really neat to see them go down and do that type of mentoring and talking about jazz band jazz fest which is a big event for the music Club is a week from Friday so it's the 12th uh here and you need to email Mr Greta for tickets but it's a meal and getting to hear the jazz band that they have vocalists and one of the vocalists is sitting back there with the seniors she did a great job singing last night by the way um um but it's a neat event if anybody can go to that and
010then the the last thing is uh got a chance to walk through the new high school on Wednesday and it's it's really interesting looking that at the change that happens week to week in that building and how far they're coming along and they're still on track and I think is there an update on the construction today but not tonight okay not tonight but uh it's just it's the progress is phenomenal in my mind walking through that building and they're still on track and uh that's that's really nice to see so that's it so next is recognition of visitors Mr President um we have uh two people signed up first is Corey Vickers from fairborne or if you want to come up here and talk into the microphone comments are limited to five minutes um hi
011um sorry about my voice prom was so much fun on this Saturday that I lost my voice so um my first thing is okay um my name is Corey Vickers um my pronouns are they then I'm a senior at Fairborn High School all of you have met me I am a drum major in what was the drum major in marching band um the music Club is like my second family my second home and so I love I play clarinet and I love it and tomorrow's my last concert which is super sad but it's also it's like watching all of my peers and I grow up through music has been astounding um I like I said my pronouns are they them I identify as queer um and um two months ago Mr Greta I always ask
012him for scores beforehand because I always love to know what we're playing he's like I can't tell you before everybody else so when he told everybody that we were gonna play a song um titled a mother of a revolution by Omar Thomas I was astounded it is a beautiful piece it is um it would have been the hardest thing I've ever played on my instrument um truly intellectually challenging like crazy rhythms crazy notes like stuff I've never even played um I was looking so forward to it and I was like all spring break I was like I'm so excited I'd already practiced it and don't tell him this man this but no I was so excited um and then I found out that I was not going to be able to play this piece um
013and this piece a mother of a revolution is about Marsha P um Johnson he was a trans woman the P stands for pay it no mind she gave herself that name um to just represent that pay it no mind it doesn't matter that I'm trans I'm still human right um and so over my course of um I guess seven years of playing my instrument I've played music from different backgrounds different cultures different ethnicities um religions and so many different groups I've played songs that have pushed me out of my comfort zone a little bit um and not just in a like a oh here's the meaning of the piece but also like it is one thing to play something that is really challenging um in a musical standpoint but it also pushes you as a
014person to persevere this is really hard but I know I can do it right it's more than just the music it is growing as an individual human to know that I can overcome challenges and obstacles right um sophomore year we played a song called an American elegy by Frank ticelli um in the footnotes it says quote composed in memory of those who lost their lives at Columbine High School and to honor the survivors end quote I was able to play a piece about those high school students just like me who lost their lives brutally and tragically but I can't play a song about the lovely life of Marcia P Johnson last year we played a song called me Kong by Robert W Smith we not only played this in a concert but we also played
015this in front of the intermediate fifth graders as our Recruitment and they loved it it is an incredible piece and it was really challenging to play also um and um Mekong is a river that flows in Vietnam it was known as the heartbeat of the Vietnam War um there were five bass drums in the auditorium that were instructed to play as loud as possible in some like sporadic bombs and they they did a good job there was a warning at the beginning of the piece that if you had trouble with loud and sounds and stuff to leave and we were respectfully honor that but I can play a song about the Vietnam War but I can't play a song to honor the life of an individual um this past year um just in March and
016we also played it um with a combined wind group with the Sinclair Wind Ensemble we played a song called they shall run and be free by Brant correct in the footnotes it says quote portrays a daring and perilous slave Escape end quote there is a slapstick part in the percussion section that is made to sound like a whip cracking a slave's back um Brent Carrick is a black composer who wrote this to honor the life of his heritage um there's a Negro spiritual called oh freedom in this piece says o Freedom o Freedom o Freedom over me and before I'd be a slave I'd be buried in my grave and go home to my Lord and be free oh Freedom right right here it says the word censorship when censorship occurs my creative and Divergent
017thinking as a musician has taken away and that's really hard thank you Corey next up we have Mr John Pace the fairborne good evening superintendent Lawley and board I appreciate the opportunity to speak this evening I do commend the student that shared you know her concerns and convictions to the school board pardon me yeah their concerns are they're they them are their pronouns sorry missed that on the 21st of March and I and you had a lot of announcements in reference to um basically uh the music program and I I Echo those great great music program we have here um you know the students in band their parents I would consider as friends so really my comments tonight are just to give some facts and maybe a different perspective on the issues it's not to
018to go against um this the student's message so on March 21st Mr Greta introduced a band piece titled a mother of Revolution which is described as a piece celebrating The Bravery of transgenders and in particular Marsha Johnson Marsha is credited with being one of those instigators of the famous Stonewall Uprising in 1969 which is described as a pivotal event of the lgbtq movement where many violent protests and injuries occurred so after gaining knowledge of the piece that Mr goretta introduced my wife and I reached out to him via email sharing our Christian beliefs and requested that they either consider a different piece or dismiss our children from participating in the song we felt this was a respectful request with two Simple Solutions there were no demands simply a request to change music or excuse our
019kids without any ramifications when some students Express their concerns to the band director about playing the piece Mr Coretta suggested that if they didn't participate they could receive a zero or write a 20-page paper I view his response as possible punishment and coercion I don't know if the other parents reached out but after Mr goretta spoke with the superintendent who asked him I believe not to pick to pick a different piece Mr goretta addressed his entire class and expressed his disappointment in being forced to play different music he indicated it almost ruined his spring break he nearly quit his job over it and that lawyers were involved just imagine how those statements must have sturge students in a negative and divisive manner if Mr goretta had kept us A Private Matter between parents and staff
020which he most certainly should have this wouldn't be a contentious matter before the school board as a Christian family with Biblical worldview we believe the Bible's the word of God his Revelation to guide how we live our lives one key tenet of that is to show love and kindness to all people regardless of their gender race ethnicity or even a world view so I'm not here to attack anyone's world view or their strongly held beliefs or their identity but as an example you know we're not to judge others when we love people however we're instructed not to participate in or celebrate things that are not aligned with our beliefs so my wife and I the blended family have had six children be a part of the music program and have worked hormone harmoniously side by
021side with band parents and students for many years I would describe the group as quite diverse in their interests World Views and convictions and the music program has historically done a great job of bringing those diversities together and uniting them any peace that distracts the music program from uniting goal should be questioned it only takes one glance at the headlines to know that there are many controversial issues in today's society I would hope the music program would be focused on bringing people together playing music that isn't centered on one of those divisive issues a couple key questions for the board to consider why intentionally select a piece that puts our children in the midst of controversy and causes division how does the school board ensure that students with a Biblical worldview aren't ostracized or punished
022for not participating in a controversial song selection that goes against their biblical values and when I say that I mean that broadly I think same consideration be should be given to an atheist that's asked to play a song that celebrates Christ I believe the Equitable way to achieve this is to play pieces that don't divide our children around where they stand on a controversial topic instead focus on what they have in common a love for music this isn't about who's right or wrong it's about remaining committed to the children without joining in on political viewpoints that cause division there's enough of that in the world outside the school doors I I am not against you you know I am not um about 15 seconds Sir all I ask is that our staff do a good
023job of handling these situations and be sensitive to the fact that not everybody thinks the same way regardless of the topic and I think that's at the core of the issue thank you thank you Mr pace Mr President that's all I've signed up to public participation okay let's move on to school district presentations Mr Lawley okay first up would be members from the class of 2023 to talk about the recent New York trip that they went on here we have the senior class officers and senior class advisor Mrs Zink thank you for having us tonight we are here again representing the class of 2023. my name is Miley Smith and I am the vice president with me tonight are class officers secretary Jay Dodd Treasurer Hayden Barnett and historians Katie and Munger and Aaron Reichert
024we have come tonight to thank you for allowing us to take our senior trip to the New York City and to give you an idea of what we experienced as a class we visited the Empire State Building we were able to get a view of the entirety of New York City at night we also toured the American Museum of Natural History the setting of the night in museum movies and traveled by ferry to the Statue of Liberty at the end of the first and second days our entire group met at the Hard Rock Cafe and a Margaritaville for dinner when not participating in whole group tours seniors were split into smaller groups we called families each family designed their own travel plan to visit sites of interest to every single member visiting the World Trade
025Center Memorial Times Square and adventuring through Little Italy and Chinatown were some of the destinations families saw the bull on Wall Street and visited St Patrick's Cathedral and Trinity Church families also experience riding through the subway walking through Central Park and shopping on Fifth Avenue a highlight of the trip was attending the Broadway show this year we saw Aladdin this had something for everyone a magic Genie and even a flying carpet our class loved it one of the most memorable moments of our trip was the final day's family dinner Following the show each family had a dinner of their own and enjoyed one last bonding moment to our senior trip before it ended our class had a great time in New York and learned a lot this trip has given us the opportunity to travel
026to an expansive and diverse City to see what other cultures are like the annual senior class trip gives many students who would not have had the chance to travel the opportunity to do so over 30 000 candy bars were sold by seniors to help fund their trip we would also have never been able to go on the senior trip without our amazing chaperones some experiencing their first year as a chaperone and others over 12 years including assistant superintendent Amy Gayheart we want to thank all of you again for allowing us to continue the Fairborn High School tradition of taking a senior trip the memories made by the members of the class of 2023 are ones we will never forget please enjoy this brief slideshow of our trip okay thank you thank you just a quick
027comment thank you for coming tonight and you know it's it's a neat thing to see all the pictures and stuff from the trip every year when the seniors go and thank you for representing fairborne very well when you were in New York City that makes it easier to send the next year's class thank you any other comments no no great job thanks for sharing I'm not saying something just come up here um I want to invite Pam and Gene to come up here to also talk about the bond delivery results but in terms of in March um I updated the board of education on the state of Ohio Foundation funding um this current year right now is we get 16.2 million I'd project it for next year about an increase of about 0.4 million dollars
028more about a two three percent increase in January Governor dewine proposed an increase of a little less than one million uh 0.8 million dollar increase which was good but the house of the State House Representatives just released their budget and passed it with some pretty good news for Fairborn Schools they're proposing an increase of 2.6 million dollars so we're a little over halfway through the budget process the state senate will now debate they will come up with their own plan they will pass it then the house and the Senate need to reconcile their number numbers with the governor's approval and it all has to be done by June 30th but uh some pretty optimistic numbers right now any questions on the foundation funding that's a big number yep it's good news so um I want
029to do uh Gene Lolly and Pam Gayheart myself we'll talk about the bond loving good evening everyone I just want to take a moment here as you're well aware it was a great day on Tuesday we passed the bond issue the 1.7 mil to finish the construction of our high school I want to thank those voters who got out and vote whether you vote Yes or vote no I think that's what makes this country great that we live in that you can voice your opinion it's even greater that speakers can come here and speak their beliefs and what they feel they want to express again that's why we live in a country like no other I would like to think are three Levy co-chairs and that's Ellen Sloan Farthing Betsy Snyder and Jane Doorly who
030headed our Levy committee so a huge thank you to them so with the completion or with the passage of the bond issue we're able to reinstate some of the things that we were cutting such as the baseball softball fields tennis courts band turf field and the indoor training facility but we'll talk a little bit more about that in our work session tonight so with that again I just want to thank those of you that got out and voted and I'm going to turn this over to Mrs Gayheart so I just want to reiterate what superintendent Lolly said we've got a group of volunteers that work behind the scenes the Fairborn kids first has a website and social media so we were updating that and just trying to give accurate information about finishing the projects and
031communicating with our parents for a lot of us we really want to see this project finished and finish the correct way and this will allow us to do that so I'm just super thankful for everyone who got out and voted that were able to finish the project and I'm very thankful for the volunteers who always step up and put the time in to make sure that we're communicating honestly and accurately And Timely so thank you very much in terms of the bottle Levy itself we don't have a breakdown by precincts we pass with a little less than 100 votes but we don't take for granted the support that the community has given us the the money that they give us to finish this project the trust that they have we assure you that we'll spend
032each and every dollar wisely and if anybody ever has any questions about how we spend our money our books are open and we'll sit down and talk with anybody but again it's um Statewide School levies did not fare very well this year but our community stepped up and supported us and we're very grateful for that any questions from the board thank you thank you so next on the agenda is budget and finance looking at the five-year forecast and approval and then the receipt of the monthly financial report so we could get a motion then we could talk about any questions so moved second any questions or comments okay Mr Philo Ms Landon yes Mr steininger yay this is Malad yes Mr McCord yes Mr Browning yes next is Administrative reports and superintendent recommendations this actually
033goes the next 11 pages and a couple things that are in there one is it's a number of the pages is a graduating class for 2023 listed in there basically for approval by the board also there's a resolution for service for 19 years of employment for Tammy Elliott who was retiring so we'd like to thank Tammy for her service to the district yeah so if we go back if we could get a motion in a second then if there's any questions so moved second any questions or comments yep Mr Philo Mrs Milan yes Miss Landon yes Mr steininger hey Mr McCord yes Mr Browning yes and next is gifts and donations Pat would you want to do that yeah we gave you the best one uh Fairborn City Schools Board of Education would like to
034gratefully acknowledge the following Gibson donation uh Anonymous gift of one thousand dollars to the Fairborn intermediate school PTO for Color Run and Field Day t-shirts uh Krogers are friendly fans over there for the food and hygiene items for the Hawks pantry and our friend Fred Pomeroy three thousand dollars for the turf field fund and again thanks to each and every one of them right okay Mr Philo we're going to uh executive session Mr Mr President if I could entertain a motion to go into executive special executive session for the specified purposes of Investigation of charges or complaints against the Public Employee second Mr McCord yes Mr steininger yay Miss Landon yes Mrs Malad yes Mr Browning yes board will go into executive session it should take approximately 10 to 15 minutes we'll come out of
035executive session and have a work session in this room and then probably after that work session we'll go into a second executive session and then adjourn for the evening so you're welcome to stay the executive session is closed to the public except for the people that we invite in we anticipate 10 to 15 minutes and we'll adjourn to one of the other rooms over here